Increased prices and tighter times do not bite the luxury brand Hermès.
Customers fill the orange bags at Hermés in Nedre Slottsgate in Oslo. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB / NTBPublished:
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Belt for NOK 11,100. A pillow for NOK 13,000 or a bracelet for NOK 130,400. There is plenty to spend money on at the luxury store Hermes in Oslo.
And people spend money. Things are going well for Hermès these days.
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On Thursday, the company presented results for the first quarter of the year. Adjusted for currency changes, revenues increased by 17 percent, compared to the same time last year. In total for the quarter, the company’s income was 3.8 billion euros.
Hermés store in central Oslo Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB / NTB
Selling bags at Finn
– You must contact our PR department, says one of the employees at Hermès in Nedre Slottsgate in Oslo.
E24 has tried to have a chat with some of the people in the store in Oslo, but has to settle for talking to customers in the rain outside the heavy doors.
– Now I come out empty-handed, says Janne Gjessing.
She has visited Hermès – but comes out again without the iconic orange bag. Just the bag alone can be bought used at Finn for around NOK 100.
Janne Gjessing will soon be 50 and puts Hermés on her wish list. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB / NTB
– Always allowed to wish
The chairman of Hermès, Axel Dumas, believes that the growth reflects the customers’ loyalty.
– The solid sales growth in the first quarter of 2024 reflects the loyalty of our customers worldwide, the strength of the group’s craftsmanship model and the attractiveness of our creations in a more complex environment. Hermès continues its strategy based on exceptional craftsmanship, the finest materials and uncompromising quality, he says in the quarterly report that was recently presented.
Interest rates and increased prices do not seem to bite the luxury brand, which in the first quarter of the year increased its revenues in Europe by 14.5 percent. Hermès is known, among other things, for the iconic Birkin bag, which has been sold for several million kroner.
– Those who can afford to buy things at Hermès are probably not particularly affected by the increased prices anyway, says Gjessing.
She herself has mainly visited the store to dream.
– I didn’t have money for anything just today. But I will soon be 50 and it is always permissible to wish, she says.
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Hermés bag filled with luxury goods. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB / NTB
Bags for NOK 150,000
A couple, who usually live in Stavanger, are visiting Oslo. She recently had a birthday and they went to Hermès to buy a present.
But the picture in and name in E24 – they would rather not have that.
– Hermès has jewelery for NOK 150,000, but also for NOK 15,000. They have something for everyone, she says.
She likes the jewelry herself. She is supported by the man.
– I don’t like the idea of buying shoes for thousands of kroner. After all, they get dirty and quickly destroyed. There is something different about jewelery and scarves, he says.
On top of the orange bag are both jewelery and scarves.
– It’s a birthday present. And we have had two sons, so she deserves this, he says.