‘Air mess’ is all right
Agence France-Presse reports on glad tidings for French luxury brand Hermès, pronounced “air mess,” as a member of the Hermès family told me sometime ago in Beijing:
French fashion house Hermès reported Wednesday November 7 another quarter of brisk sales growth, propelled by red-hot demand in China, where the ultrachic brand expects further growth as it opens stores and rolls out online sales. The company said sales in the third quarter climbed 9.4 percent to 1.46 billion euros (US$1.68 billion), racking up higher sales in all the regions where it operates.
But it was Asia excluding Japan, which has become the group’s biggest source of revenue, that set the pace, with sales jumping 11.8 percent to 519 million euros.
The results reassured investors who had worried that trade tensions between Beijing and Washington could hamper sales of Birkin, Kelly and other hot Hermès handbags to eager Chinese customers.
“We have not seen any change of rhythm in China for now,” executive chairman Axel Dumas said during a conference call.
Meanwhile, Jing Daily reports:
L’Oreal CEO Jean-Paul Agon says the company’s beauty brands appear to be insulated from the U.S.-China trade war.
“Sales in China are flying, especially in luxury, and we have seen this now for a long time, and it’s going on,” Agon said. He added that the company is gaining market share in the country as well.
