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Project Presentation

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Chronic Diseases From Junk Food in the UK Presentation.pptx

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XinYue&YuanFei&SiYu
Project Presentation

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XinYue&YuanFei&SiYu
Proect Presentation

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XinYue Xie

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SIYU GUO

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Valentino has roped in Isabelle Harvie-Watt as its new Chief Marketing Officer, reports Business of Fashion. She would be joining the business on April 16, 2018. Her responsibilities at Valentino include overseeing marketing and communications for the company, reporting directly to CEO Stefano Sassi.

She most recently served as managing partner of Spring Studios. Prior to Spring Studios, Harvie-Watt was associated with Havas Media Group for five years as chief executive and country manager.

The fashion house is currently owned by the State of Qatar through investment fund Mayhoola, which acquired the label in 2012 at a value of 700 million euros (859.7 million dollars). After Maria Grazia Chiruri's exit as the co-creative director, Valentino's collections are solely managed by its current Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Picture:Valentino website

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Valentino hires Isabelle Harvie-Watt as Chief Marketing Officer

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Valentino has roped in Isabelle Harvie-Watt as its new Chief Marketing Officer, reports Business of Fashion. She would be joining the business on April 16, 2018. Her responsibilities at Valentino include overseeing marketing and communications for the company, reporting directly to CEO Stefano Sassi. She most recently served as managing partner of Spring Studios.

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Shiyi Chen（2）

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Poppy ，Chen Shiyi， Sheng fangbo

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Alibaba Group Holding Limited ( Chinese: 阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司; pinyin: Ālǐbābā Jítuán Kònggǔ Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī ) is a Chinese multinational e-commerce, retail, Internet, AI and technology conglomerate founded in 1999 that provides consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales services via web portals, as well as electronic payment services, shopping search engines and cloud computing services.

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Examples of your sentences about your sources using new vocabulary (session 5):

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Examples of your sentences about your sources using new vocabulary (session 5):

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Shiyi Chen（ 1）

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Sheng Fangbo

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Jessie

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http://m.sohu.com/n/517242389/

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Hermès International S.A. ( er-MEZ, French: ) is a French luxury design house established on June 15th 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the 1950s, its logo has been a depiction of a ducal horse-drawn carriage.

Thierry Hermès, founder of Hermès

Thierry Hermès was born in Krefeld, Germany, to a French father and a German mother. The family moved to France in 1828.[2] In 1837, Hermès first established a harness workshop in the Grands Boulevards quarter of Paris, dedicated to serving European noblemen.[3][4] He created high-quality wrought harnesses and bridles for the carriage trade,[5] winning several awards including the first prize in its class in 1855, and again in 1867, at the Expositions Universelles in Paris.[5][6]

Hermès's son, Charles-Émile,[2] took over management from his father in 1880, and moved the shop to 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where it remains. With the help of his sons Adolphe and Émile-Maurice, Charles-Émile introduced saddlery and started selling his products retail.[5] The company catered to the élite of Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia, and the Americas. In 1900, the firm offered the Haut à Courroies bag, specially designed for riders to carry their saddles with them.

After Charles-Émile Hermès's retirement, sons Adolphe and Émile-Maurice took leadership and renamed the company Hermès Frères. Shortly after, Émile-Maurice began furnishing the tsar of Russia with saddles.[2] By 1914, up to 80 saddle craftsmen were employed. Subsequently, Émile-Maurice was granted the exclusive rights to use the zipper for leather goods and clothing, becoming the first to introduce the device in France.[3] In 1918, Hermès introduced the first leather golf jacket with a zipper, made for Edward, Prince of Wales.[6] Because of its exclusive rights arrangement the zipper became known in France as the fermeture Hermès (Hermès fastener).[5]

Throughout the 1920s, when he was the sole head of the firm, Émile-Maurice added accessories and clothing collections.[3][4][7] He also groomed his three sons-in-law (Robert Dumas, Jean-René Guerrand, and Francis Puech) as business partners. In 1922, the first leather handbags were introduced after Émile-Maurice's wife complained of not being able to find one to her liking. Émile-Maurice created the handbag collection himself.[2]

Hermès Frères advertisement, 1923

In 1924, Hermès established a presence in the United States and opened two shops outside of Paris. In 1929, the first women's couture apparel collection was previewed in Paris.[2] During the 1930s, Hermès introduced some of its most recognized original goods[3] such as the leather "Sac à dépêches" in 1935 (later renamed the " Kelly bag" after Grace Kelly), and the Hermès carrés (square scarves) in 1937.[3]

The scarves became integrated into French culture.[4] In 1938, the "Chaîne d'ancre" bracelet and the riding jacket and outfit joined the classic collection. By this point, the company's designers began to draw inspirations from paintings, books, and objets d'art.[3] The 1930s also witnessed Hermès's entry into the United States market by offering products in a Neiman Marcus department store in New York; however, it later withdrew.[4] In 1949, the same year as the launch of the Hermès silk tie, the first perfume, "Eau d'Hermès", was produced.

From the mid-1930s, Hermès employed Swiss watchmaker Universal Genève as the brand's first and exclusive designer of timepieces, producing a line of men's wrist chronographs[8] (manufactured in 18K gold or stainless steel) and women's Art Déco cuff watches in 18K gold, steel, or platinum. Both models contained dials signed either "Hermès" or "Hermès Universal Genève", while the watch movements were signed "Universal Genève S.A.". The Hermès/Universal partnership lasted until the 1950s.[9]

Émile-Maurice summarized the Hermès philosophy during his leadership as "leather, sport, and a tradition of refined elegance."[5]

Robert Dumas-Hermès (1898-1978), who succeeded Émile-Maurice after his death in 1951, closely collaborated with brother-in-law Jean-René Guerrand.[3] Dumas became the first man not directly descended from Hermès père to lead the company because his connection to the family was only through marriage. Thus, he incorporated the Hermès name into his own, Dumas-Hermès.

The company also acquired its Duc-carriage-with-horse logo and signature orange paper boxes in the early 1950s.[3] Dumas introduced original handbags, jewelry, and accessories and was particularly interested in design possibilities with the silk scarves.[3] During the mid-20th century, scarf production diminished.[4] World Tempus, a Web portal dedicated to watchmaking, states: "Brought to life by the magic wand of Annie Beaumel, the windows of the store on the [rue du] Faubourg Saint-Honoré became a theatre of enchantment and [established the store as] a Parisian meeting-place for international celebrities."[3] In 1956, Life magazine featured a photograph of Grace Kelly, who had become the new Princess of Monaco, carrying the "Sac à dépêches" bag. Purportedly, she held it in front of herself to disguise her pregnancy. Thus, when the public began calling it the "Kelly" bag, a name subsequently adopted by Hermès, it became hugely popular.

The perfume business became a subsidiary in 1961, concurrently with the introduction of the "Calèche" scent, named after a hooded four-wheeled horse carriage, known since the 18th century, and is also the company's logo since the 1950s. In 2004, Jean-Claude Ellena became the in-house perfumer or "nose" and has created several successful scents, including the Hermessence line of fragrances.[2]

Hermes store at Avenue George V in Paris 8th arrondissement, France

Despite apparent success in the 1970s, exemplified by multiple stores having been established worldwide, including one in The Peninsula Hong Kong in 1975, Hermès declined relative to its competitors, industry observers attributed this decline to Hermès' insistence on exclusively using natural materials for its products, a differentiation from competitors that were using new, synthetic materials.[4] A two-week lapse in orders exemplified this shift: the Hermès workrooms were silent.[4] A market shift from artificial ingredients back to natural materials renewed demand for Hermès' fragrances and improved the company's prospects, contributing to the re-establishment of Hermès as a major player in the fragrance industry.[citation needed ]

Jean-Louis Dumas, the son of Robert Dumas-Hermès, traveled extensively,[2] studying in the buyer-training program at Bloomingdale's, the New York department store, and joined the family firm in 1964. He became chairman of Hermès in 1978 and concentrated the firm on silk, leather goods, and ready-to-wear, augmenting traditional techniques with new product lines. This transition was instrumental in turning around Hermès' decline.[4]

Dumas brought in designers Eric Bergère and Bernard Sanz to revamp the apparel collection and, in collaboration, added unusual entries. They included the python motorcycle jackets and ostrich-skin jeans, which were dubbed as "a snazzier version of what Hermès has been all along." (Annual sales in 1978, when Jean-Louis became head of the firm, were reported at US$50 million.[4] By 1990, annual sales were reported at US$460 million, mainly due to Dumas's strategy.) In 1979, he launched an advertising campaign featuring a young, denim-clad woman wearing an Hermès scarf. The purpose was to introduce the Hermès brand to a new set of consumers. As one fashion-sector observer noted: "Much of what bears the still-discreet Hermès label changed from the object of an old person's nostalgia to the subject of young peoples' dreams."[4] However, Dumas's change-of-image created outrage both within and outside of the firm.

Also in the 1970s, the watch subsidiary, La Montre Hermès, was established in Bienne, Switzerland. Then, throughout the 1980s, Dumas strengthened the company's hold on its suppliers,[4] resulting in Hermès's gaining great stakes in prominent French glassware, silverware acquiring venerable tableware manufacturers such as Puiforcat, St. Louis, and Périgord.[4]

Hermès flagship store in Prince's Building, Hong Kong

From the 1980s, tableware became a strong segment of the firm.[4] And, overall, the collection of Hermès goods expanded in 1990 to include over 30,000 pieces. New materials used in the collection included porcelain and crystal.[5]

Hermès relocated its workshops and design studios to Pantin, just outside Paris.[3] By June 1993, Hermès had gone public on the Paris Bourse (stock exchange). At the time, the equity sale generated great excitement. The 425,000 shares floated at FFr 300 (US$55 at the time) were oversubscribed by 34 times.[4] Dumas told Forbes magazine that the equity sale would help lessen family tensions by allowing some members to liquidate their holdings without "squabbling over share valuations among themselves."[4]

To this time, the Hermès family was still retaining a strong hold of about 80% in stocks, placing Jean-Louis Dumas and the entire family on the Forbes list of billionaires.[4] Mimi Tompkins of U.S. News & World Report called the company "one of Paris' best guarded jewels."

In the following years, Dumas decreased Hermès franchises from 250 to 200 and increased company-owned stores from 60 to 100 to better control sales of its products.[4] The plan was to cost about FFr 200 million in the short term but to increase profits in the long term. Having around FFr 500 million to invest, Hermès pressed ahead, targeting China for company-operated boutiques, finally opening a store in The Peninsula Beijing in 1997.[10]

In 1997, Jean-Louis hired iconoclastic Belgian designer Martin Margiela to supervise women's ready-to-wear.

By the late 1990s, Hermès continued extensively to diminish the number of franchised stores, buying them up and opening more company-operated boutiques. The fashion industry was caught off guard in September 1999, when Jean-Louis decided to pay FFr 150 million for a 35% stake in the Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion house.[4] In the latter part of the 1900s, the company encouraged its clientele to faites nous rêver (make us dream), producing throughout the period artistically atypical orders.

Hermès, Madrid, Spain (2016)

In 2003, Martin Margiela left Hermès, and hired Jean Paul Gaultier as the head designer, debuted his first ready-to-wear collection for fall/winter 2004-05.[2][11]

After 28 years as head of the firm, Jean-Louis Dumas retired in January 2006. Known for his charm and one of Europe's greatest authorities on luxury, he died in 2010 after a long illness.[2] Patrick Thomas, who had joined the company in 1989, and who had worked with Jean-Louis as the co-CEO from 2005, replaced him. Thomas became the first non-Hermès family member to head the company.

In February 2015 Hermès has announced an increase of its turnover of 9.7 percent representing more than €4 billion in sales.[12] This increase is internationally visible. In Asia, excluding Japan, where the turnover grew by 7 percent, in America with a 10 percent rise, and in Europe a growth of 7 percent was achievd. A good performance in the group's stores was generated.[13]

In March 2018, Hermès opened a multi-story shop at the Dubai Mall, their largest to date.[14] In 2019, the brand was ranked 33rd in the Forbes List "World's Most Valuable Brands".[15] The 2021 review of WIPO's annual World Intellectual Property Indicators ranked Hermès 7th in the world for the 68 industrial design registrations that were published under the Hague System during 2020.[16] This position is significantly up on their previous 15th-place ranking for their 27 industrial design registrations published in 2019.[17]

Following a landmark jury verdict, in February 2023, a New York court ordered artist Mason Rothschild to pay $133,000 in damages to Hermès, for infringing its copyright in his 2021 digital depictions of the Birkin bag in NFTs.[18]

2020 Health and Economic Crisis Followed by Rebound

Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 health crisis, the group witnessed a 7% sales drop and a 9% decline in net profit in 2020.[19] The decrease in European activity was partly offset by increased activity in Asia during the latter half of 2020.[20]

In 2021, the group reported a net profit of €2.445 billion and €9 billion in sales, achieving an operating margin of 39.3%. These results surpassed pre-pandemic figures.[21]

In March 2022, after the Russo-Ukrainian conflict erupted, Hermès announced the temporary closure of its Russian operations.[22] About sixty employees were affected across three stores.[23]

In 2023, the company won a copyright lawsuit against American artist Mason Rothschild, who replicated and sold the Birkin bag as an NFT collection.[30][31]

Hermès reported a 23.4% rise in 2022 results, reaching €11.6 billion, with operational profit up 33% to 4.7%, yielding a margin above 40%.[32]

In the same year, the group announced four new production sites in France: Espagnac, Loupes, Riom, and Charleville-Mézières.[36]

Hermès presented "Hermès in the Making," a traveling exhibition across France in 2023, showcasing its artisanal craftsmanship.[37]

In Q3 2023, Hermès reported 16% growth, slowing from 28% in Q2 but still outpacing key rivals such as LVMH who was flat and Kering who reported a decline in Q3 2023.[38] Analysts suggest this resilience is due to Hermès impeccable brand image, storytelling, and positioning, as well as citing the broader consumer interest in "quiet luxury".[39]

The designers throughout the company's history have included Lola Prusac, Jacques Delahaye, Catherine de Karolyi, Monsieur Levaillant, Nicole de Vesian, Eric Bergère, Claude Brouet, Tan Giudicelli, Marc Audibet, Mariot Chane, Bernard Sanz, Martin Margiela, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christophe Lemaire, Véronique Nichanian (the men's-wear designer since 1988), and Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski (since 2014 succeeding Lemaire).

An Hermès soap bar bearing the logo

Known for luxury goods, by 2008, Hermès had 14 product divisions that encompassed leather, scarves, ties, men's and women's wear, perfume, watches, stationery, footwear, gloves, enamelware, decorative arts, tableware, and jewellery.[3]

Hermès sales compose about 30% leather goods, 15% clothes, 12% scarves, and 43% other wares.[2] The company licenses no products and keeps tight control over the design and manufacture of its vast inventory.[5]

The firm is very attached to its traditional business model and rejects mass production, assembly lines, and mechanization. Hermès's goods are almost entirely made in France by hand in middle-sized workshops known as Les Ateliers Hermès that emphasise high-quality manufacturing. Indeed, Hermès claims most items are fabricated from beginning to end by only one person, which is supposed to guarantee the quality and uniqueness of its products.

The scarf or carré (square) was introduced in 1937.[4] The first example was a 70 cm x 70 cm print of white-wigged females playing a popular period game, a custom-made accessory named "Jeu des Omnibus et Dames Blanches."[4] Hermès oversaw the production of its scarves throughout the entire process, purchasing raw Chinese silk, spinning it into yarn, and weaving it into fabric twice as strong and heavy as most scarves available at the time.[4]

The company's scarf designers spend years creating new print patterns that are individually screen-printed.[4] Designers can choose from over 70,000 different colors.[40] When production first began, a dedicated factory was established in Lyon, France, the same year that Hermès celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Contemporary Hermès carrés measure 90 cm × 90 cm, weigh 65 grams and are woven from the silk of 250 mulberry moth cocoons.[40] All hems are hand-stitched. Motifs are wide-ranging, Two silk-scarf collections per year are released, along with some reprints of older designs and limited editions. And two collections per year are introduced in a Cashmere/silk blend. Since 1937, Hermès has produced over 2,000 unique designs; the horse motif is particularly famous and popular.[40] The ubiquitous "Brides de Gala" version, introduced in 1957, has been produced more than 70,000 times. An Hermès scarf is sold somewhere in the world every 25 seconds; by the late 1970s, more than 1.1 million scarves had been sold worldwide.[5]

Hermès silk ties

In 1946 the brand introduced a range of men's silk neckties in an array of motifs and widths. Neckties account for 10 percent of the company's annual sales.[41]

For years, Hermès has partnered with Tuareg tribesmen for silver jewelry. The Saharan nomads' traditional motifs are often mirrored in various Hermès products, including scarves.[42]

In partnership with Apple, stainless steel editions of Apple Watch co-branded with Hermès are sold through Apple online and through Apple retail stores, as well as Hermès online and selected retail stores. Apple Watch Hermès features exclusive bands, colors, and digital watch faces carrying those companies' branding.[43]

Hermès is known for its handmade luggage and handbags. One of them might require 18 to 24 hours to produce. The construction of each Kelly bag, for example, requires 18 hours to fully realize.[4] Hermès's leathers come from all over the world. Customers may currently wait from six months to one year for delivery of one of the house's signature bags. Incidentally, should Hermès's leather goods require repair, owners can bring an item to any Hermès store, where it will be shipped to Les Ateliers Hermès in Pantin for repair or reconditioning.[citation needed ]

Another famous Hermès handbag, the " Birkin bag", was named after British actress Jane Birkin. In a chance encounter with Jean-Louis Dumas, she complained that her bag was not practical for everyday use. Consequently, he invited her to France where they co-designed the bag in 1984. Birkin has since stopped carrying her namesake bag due to her tendonitis, as the bag became too large and heavy for her to carry.[44] Asked by her that her name be removed and with much back-and-forth comments about various issues such as having her name removed. According to Vogue: "Jane Birkin 'is satisfied by the measures taken by Hermès', according to the brand, following an investigation by the fashion house [that refuted] claims made by PETA that its famous Birkin bags were being 'constructed from the skins of factory-farmed and cruelly slaughtered crocodiles.' "[45]

While the Kelly and Birkin are two of the house's most famous bags, Hermès has a wide range of other popular handbags. One, the bolide is a dome shaped carry all that comes in varying sizes with a leather shoulder strap. It is widely recognized as the first handbag that was constructed with a zipper.[46] The bolide comes in both stiff leathers such as epsom and relaxed leathers such as clemence. Another popular bag from the Hermès house is the evelyne, a comparatively affordable saddle style bag meant to be worn cross body with a traditionally fabric strap. The evelyne is available in 4 different sizes: the TPM (16 cm), PM (29 cm), GM (33 cm)and TGM (40 cm) and is generally made in relaxed leathers like clemence.[47] The evelyne boasts a perforated "H" motif that is meant to be hidden and worn towards the body, to allow easy access to the top of the bag.

In 2021, the Farm Transparency Project released video footage from three Australian crocodile farms owned by Hermès, which showed the small cages and concrete floors the animals live on and how they are slaughtered, including by stabbing and electrocution.[48]

Exotic leathers of the bags make them highly valuable and noticeable, e.g., ostrich leather

Since 1951, the company has created a number of scents for both men and women, as well as unisex lines. The Hermès line of perfumes includes classic perfumes such as Calèche introduced in 1961 and more recent creations including Terre d'Hermès. The main creator/nose of Hermès perfumes is Christine Nagel.

Calèche, 1961

Amazone, 1974 (updated 2017)

Parfum d'Hermès, 1984

24 Faubourg, 1995

Hiris, 1999

Rouge Hermès, 2000

Eau des Merveilles, 2004

Kelly Calèche, 2007

Jour d'Hermès, 2013

Jour d'Hermès Gardenia, 2015

Galop d'Hermès, 2016

Twilly d'Hermès, 2017

Twilly d'Hermès Eau Poivrée, 2019

Équipage, 1970

Bel Ami, 1986

Rocabar, 1998

Concentré d'Orange Verte, 2004

Terre d'Hermès, 2006

Bel Ami Vetiver, 2013

Equipage Geranium, 2015

H24, 2021

Un Jardin en Méditerranée, 2003

Un Jardin sur le Nil, 2005

Un Jardin après la Mousson, 2008

Un Jardin sur le Toit, 2011

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li, 2015

Un Jardin sur La Lagune, 2019

Un Jardin de Cythere, 2023

Eau de Cologne d'Hermès, 1978 (re-released as Eau d'Orange Verte, 1997)

Eau de Gentiane Blanche, 2009

Eau de Pamplemousse Rose, 2009

Eau de Narcisse Bleu, 2013

Eau de Mandarine Ambrée, 2013

Eau de Rhubarbe Écarlate, 2016

Eau de Neroli Doré, 2016

Eau de Citron Noir, 2018

Eau de Basilic Pourpre, 2022

Eau de Hermes, 1951

Voyage de Hermes, 2016 (eau de toilette and parfum)

Cabriole, 2022 (for children)

Rose Ikebana, 2004

Vétiver Tonka, 2004

Poivre Samarcande, 2004

Ambre Narguilé, 2004

Osmanthe Yunnan, 2005

Paprika Brazil, 2006

Brin de Réglisse, 2007

Vanille Galante, 2009

Iris Ukiyoé, 2010

Santal Massoïa, 2011

Épice Marine, 2013

Cuir d'Ange, 2014

Muguet Porcelaine, 2016

Agar Ébene, 2018

Cèdre Sambac, 2018

Myrrhe Églantine, 2018

Essences: Musc Pallida and Cardamusc, 2018

Violette Volynka, 2022

Belonging to the group is the crystal glass manufacturer Saint-Louis, the oldest crystal company in the world. Since its founding in 1586, Saint-Louis has drawn design inspiration from the decorative periods of the 19th and 20th centuries, from the Restoration to Modern styles, through Napoléon III, Art Nouveau and Art Déco. Saint-Louis became one of the Hermès Group Métiers in 1989.

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Hermès International S.A. ( er-MEZ, French: ) is a French luxury design house established on June 15th 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the 1950s, its logo has been a depiction of a ducal horse-drawn carriage.

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The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing

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The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing

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the digital print: preparing images in lightroom and photoshop for printing

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photographic equipment & techniques: general

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photography / techniques / digital (see also computers / digital media / photography)

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printing; color management; rgb; master image; black-and-white; soft proofing; photoshop; lightroom; finishing; photo lab

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The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing

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The Digital Print Whether you're a digital or a film photographer, you can learn to leverage today's technologies to create masterful prints of your work, and this unique book is devoted exclusively to teaching you how. In it, renowned photographer, educator, and author Jeff Schewe presents targe...

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Church of the light

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Text description provided by the architects. In the small town of Ibaraki, 25km outside of Osaka, Japan, stands one of Tadao Ando's signature architectural works, the Church of the Light. The Church of the Light embraces Ando's philosophical framework between nature and architecture through the way in which light can define and create new spatial perceptions equally, if not more so, as that of his concrete structures. Completed in 1989, the Church of the Light was a renovation to an existing Christian compound in Ibaraki. The new church was the first phase to a complete redesign of the site - later completed in 1999 - under Ando's design aesthetic.

For Ando, the Church of Light is an architecture of duality - the dual nature of existence - solid/void, light/dark, stark/serene. The coexisting differences leave the church void of any, and all, ornament creating a pure, unadorned space. The intersection of light and solid raises the occupants awareness of the spiritual and secular within themselves.

The employment of simplistic materials reinforces the duality of the space; the concrete structure removes any distinction of traditional Christian motifs and aesthetic. Besides an extruded cross from the east facing façade, the church is composed of a concrete shell; the concrete adds to the darkness of the church by creating a more humble, meditative place of worship. As a testament to minimalist architecture, the crosses void in the east facing wall is the only prominent religious symbol present in the church.

Formally, Ando's Church of the Light is minimalist and reductive of religious paraphernalia to a simple cruciform extrusion, which is often criticized as disturbingly empty, void, and undefined. Although it has been stated to be nothing more than six walls and a roof, there is a whole level of design aesthetic implemented by Ando and his contractors that is misread and unrecognized by the occupants.

As a modern, minimalist structure the Church of the Light emits an architectural purity that is found in the details. The reinforced concrete volume is void of any and all ornament that is not part of the construction process. The seams and joints of the concrete are built with precision and care by master Japanese carpenters, along with Ando, that have worked to create an immaculately smooth surface and accurately aligned joints. So much so, that the seams of the concrete formwork align perfectly with the crosses extrusion on the east side of the church.

The concrete construction is a reinforcement of Ando's principal focus on simplicity and minimalist aesthetic; however, the way in which the concrete is poured and formed gives the concrete a luminous quality when exposed to natural light. Ando's decision to place the cross on the east façade allows for light to pour into the space throughout the early morning and into the day, which has a dematerializing effect on the interior concrete walls transforming the dark volume into an illuminated box. Ando's approach to light and concrete in the Church of the Light, as well as his other projects, has a surreal effect that perceptually changes material into immaterial, dark into light, light into space.

"In all my works, light is an important controlling factor. I create enclosed spaces mainly by means of thick concrete walls. The primary reason is to create a place for the individual, a zone for oneself within society. When the external factors of a city's environment require the wall to be without openings, the interior must be especially full and satisfying." -Tadao Ando

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AD Classics: Church of the Light / Tadao Ando Architect & Associates

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Completed in 1999 in Ibaraki-shi, Japan. In the small town of Ibaraki, 25km outside of Osaka, Japan, stands one of Tadao Ando's signature architectural works, the Church of the Light. The...

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natural lights of architecture

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SIYU GUO   XINYUE XIE   YUANFEI MA

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Hermès International, sometimes also referred to as Hermès of Paris or Hermes, is a French luxury goods manufacturer. It has been consistently ranked as the world's most valuable luxury brand in different valuation and ranking studies published by leading consultancies. Hermès as a brand enjoys an iconic status in the world of luxury. A combination of rich heritage, exquisite craftsmanship, eye for detail and high levels of quality and professionalism through the entire manufacturing process gives Hermès a position of superiority in the very competitive and ruthless world of luxury.

According to global brand valuation firm Interbrand, Hermès came in 28th amongst the Best Global Brands 2020. With a brand valuation of USD 18.0 billion, it trails behind Louis Vuitton, ranked 17th with a valuation of USD 31.7 billion.

Hermès is not a conglomerate in the real sense of the word and does not own a portfolio of brands like its key competitors, which include LVMH, Richemont and Kering. Currently, the range of products under the Hermès brand name includes leather goods, lifestyle accessories, furniture, fragrances, watches, jewelry, ready-to-wear and saddlery.

The leather goods and saddlery category is the biggest contributor to the company's revenues (50%), followed by ready-to-wear and accessories (23%), and silk and textiles (9%).

Background of Hermès

Thierry Hermès founded the company in 1837 as a harness workshop in Paris. Originally, his intent was to serve the needs of European noblemen by providing saddles, bridles and other leather riding gear. In the early 20th century, Thierry's son Charles-Émile Hermès moved the company's shop to 24 Rue Du Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, where it remains to this very day and is the company's global headquarters.

Gradually, the company's product offerings expanded through generations. Between 1880 and 1900, it started selling saddlery and introduced its product in retail stores. In 1900, the company started selling the "Haut à Courroies" bag, which was meant for riders to carry their saddles in it. In 1918, Hermès introduced the first leather golf jacket with zipper, made for the then Prince of Wales. In the 1920s, accessories and clothing were introduced into the portfolio. In 1922, the first leather handbags entered the product line. The brand's travel bags introduced in 1925 were a global success. In the 1930s, Hermès introduced products that have now entered the annals of fashion as icons - the leather Sac à dépêches (renamed as the "Kelly bag" after Grace Kelly) in 1935 and the Hermès carrés (scarves) in 1937. In 1949, the first Hermès silk tie and the first perfume 'Eau d' Hermès' were introduced.

In the 1930s, the company entered the United States with an initial tie-up with the Neiman Marcus department store in New York.

The company's iconic duc-carriage-with-horse logo and signature orange boxes were introduced in the 1950s. In the 1970s, the company established a watch subsidiary La Montre Hermès in Bienne, Switzerland. The company acquired tableware manufacturers like Puiforcat, Saint Louis and Perigord in the 1980s and consolidated its position in these segments of the luxury market.

The eye of the ultra-premium luxury segment, the "Birkin bag" was introduced in 1984, after a chance conversation between the then CEO Jean-Louis Dumas and actress and singer Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London, who articulated to Dumas that she needed a medium-sized bag. Each Birkin costs between USD 12,000 to USD 300,000 and is the exquisite handiwork of a single craftsman, who takes between 18 to 25 hours to complete the job via hand, more if the hide is a delicate crocodile skin. In 2014, an extremely rare Himalayan Nilo crocodile Birkin bag sold for USD 185,000, becoming the second most expensive bag to be sold at auction. Hermès is infamously known to burn imperfect Birkins, showcasing its dedication to the finest quality.

In 1993, the company went public on the Paris Bourse, which for various reasons was considered a strategic move with its own set of weaknesses. Throughout the late 1990s, Hermès extensively followed a strategy of reducing franchise stores, by buying them up, closing quite a significant many and by opening more company-operated stores. As of 2019, Hermès operates 311 stores globally, out of which 223 were directly owned and operated by the company.

In 1976, Hermès entered into an arrangement with British luxury shoemaker John Lobb, wherein it was allowed to use its name in return for extending the distribution reach of the brand. In 1999, in one of its first non-brand moves, Hermès bought a 35 percent stake in the Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion house.

Over a period of time, the company has extended its reputation by entering into strategic collaborations with specific players and also its suppliers in the ultra-luxury segment. These include:

Setting up a joint venture with Faubourg Italia, in which Hermès holds a 60 percent share, to extend reach into the premium home furnishings segment (upholstery fabrics and wallpapers)

Holding a 30 percent share in J3L, an old French supplier of metal parts to the company

Holding a 39.5 percent stake in Perrin & Fils, which is a specialist textile weaver in a variety of categories, which include lingerie, furnishing fabrics, ready-to-wear and accessories

Holding a 25 percent stake in Vaucher, which is a manufacturer and supplier of movement parts for high-end precision watches

Acquiring a 40 percent stake in Bettina, a long-standing partner of the company who specializes in production of twillaine

Today, the brand operates 311 stores globally across the U.S., Russia and Asia and has over 15,000 employees. It is one of the largest and most admired luxury makers in the world with revenues of over USD 8.3 billion and profits of over USD 1.8 billion as at 2019. The stellar performance of the brand throughout its 183-year history is largely credited to its drive for strategic consistency, combining excellent creativity with craftsmanship as well as an unrelenting focus on the long-term against short-term benefits.

Hermes' brand philosophy

The Hermès' brand philosophy can possibly be summarised by a single sentence quote from former CEO Jean-Louis Dumas - "We don't have a policy of image, we have a policy of product".

The brand philosophy is deeply entrenched in the platforms of "quality" and "refinement". It is for these very principles that the brand has always shunned mass production, manufacturing lines and outsourcing. According to Hermès, each and every product coming out under the brand's name should reflect the hard work put into it by the artisan. Till today, Creative Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas signs off on every single Hermès product before it leaves the workshop, showing the company's unwavering commitment to the highest quality. According to current CEO Axel Dumas, the main strength of the Hermès brand is the love for craftsmanship. This is further eschewed by Pierre-Alexis Dumas, who was quoted saying "I think Hermès objects are desirable because they reconnect people to their humanity... Our customer feels the presence of the person who crafted the object, while at the same time the object brings him back to his own sensitivity, because it gives him pleasure through his senses".

The most critical aspect is that these principles around the brand have remained firm in the company's evolution in its close to 183-year-old history. The ownership, management and leadership of the company have passed through multiple generations of the Hermès family, but the principles of the Hermès brand have never been diluted. All Hermès products are made almost entirely in France in workshops (Ateliers Hermès), which places a strong emphasis on quality. Also, Hermès' claims, in line with the comments from its CEO and Creative Director, that each product is entirely manufactured by hand by only one craftsman, signifies the quality of craftsmanship and uniqueness of its products. For example, its silk scarves are only made from silk produced by Hermès farms in Brazil.

The driving force behind the platforms of quality and uniqueness is the intense desire of Hermès as a company to remain exclusive. The aura of exclusivity is important for the company because it does not intend to portray the brand and its products as mass-market luxury or even premium luxury. The philosophy and aim has always been to remain "ultra-premium luxury", which can only be afforded by the very few and is not easily available.

In line with these brand philosophies, the company does not have a marketing department. The two core drivers of the company's business engine are intuition and creativity. It is claimed that everyone in Hermès is responsible for marketing.

Hermes' brand strategy

According to the company's annual report, Hermès products are split into the following categories - leather goods and saddlery, men's and women's ready-to-wear and accessories (including footwear, belts, gloves, hats, etc.), silks and textiles, fragrances, watches, and other products (including jewelry, furniture, home accessories and furnishing, tableware, and sporting accessories). The company's brand strategy is consistent across each and every one of these product categories in which it has a presence.

The strategy that the company follows and adopts ensures the aura of exclusivity remains tightly woven around its products. The Hermès strategy, as illustrated by the examples below, revolves around its 6 values: Spirit of conquest, creativity, craftsmanship, quality, authenticity, and independence:

Spirit of Conquest (entrepreneurship): Store managers are responsible for their own store collections and are offered the freedom of purchase to meet specific needs of their customers. Twice a year, 1,000 store representatives from its global stores come to Paris for an event called "Podium". Each flagship is instructed to pick at least one item from product categories beyond the common ones (handbags, scarves, ties, fragrances, watches), which is an attempt by the company to push every flagship store to showcase and sell complementary products. This adds to the allure of the Hermès brand as not all products are available in each store and the online store only offers a selection of the company's products.

Creativity: Every year, designers are provided with a theme to create their products and designs on. The theme for 2019 was "in the pursuit of dreams". In addition, collaborations with designers are a mainstay of the company's creative pillar, especially in the home furnishings category. The objective is for both the designer and the company to benefit from each other's creative collaborations and reputations.

Craftsmanship: There is a mandatory 2-year training for a craftsman before he or she can start working on putting together any leather product in the Hermès portfolio. This slows down production time but the company's philosophy has always been to maintain scarcity and exclusivity. Hermès' leather goods division hires only 200 craftsmen a year. This practice has been in place across the company's six generations of craftsmen.

Quality: Hermès has introduced "patience" as a very strong principle and element in its strategy to achieve the highest quality in its production. Customers cannot expect to walk into a store and walk out with a Birkin bag. Instead, one has to place an order and wait for a few months before it is ready. Instead of rationing high demand by price like normal economic law dictates, Hermès rations by queue. It is often debated by economists that the queue for Hermès bags creates surplus demand which overflows into other Hermès "consolation" products like wallets and belts. In addition, all new employees and artisans are carefully selected and go through a three-day in-house training session called "Inside the Orange Box" that traces the company's origins back to its founders and the history of development of each of its product categories. The objective of this training is to make every Hermès employee feel close, involved in, and identify with the company's culture, philosophy and values, hence demonstrating the company's dedication to the quality of its brand and legacy.

Authenticity: Hermès does not look at celebrity endorsements as a brand-building tactic and has actively stayed away from this form of marketing (a practice that is quite common in the LVMH brand stables). The very fact that only A-list celebrities and the ultra-wealthy can afford and get access to their most premium and exclusive products is an authentic endorsement of the brand. Hermès also does not follow strategies of launching region-specific collections or product offers, allowing the same product collections to be sold everywhere in the world. Additionally, Hermès has always been a significant proponent and user of the "limited edition" strategy and also limits distribution of its products in its stores, demonstrating its commitment to showcasing only the most authentic products. Hermès products are also never offered on discounts.

Independence: Hermès has always asserted its independence in its shareholding structure and family ownership. By doing so, it is able to retain most of its production within France and serve its long-term vision.

Former CEO Patrick Thomas, only the second individual outside the Hermès family to have run the company, once commented, "The luxury industry is built on a paradox: the more desirable the brand becomes, the more it sells but the more it sells, the less desirable it becomes". His comment entirely encapsulates the strategy of exclusivity and scarcity that Hermès follows for its brand.

Hermès also follows a continued tradition of innovation in the ultra-luxury segment. From its early years of inception to the most recent times, the company manufactures and launches exclusive products that increases the allure of the brand and strengthens its position as an object of significant desire among its ultra-rich customer base. During the 1970s, new materials like polyester and plastic started to be in fashion, which prompted Hermès to develop new items in a bid to win over consumers. In 1979, a French advertising campaign featured a young lady with a Hermès scarf, which sparked huge global interest in the company's scarves that lasts till today. By the 1990s, Hermès was offering over 30,000 products.

In 2014, the company's new launches across different product categories included the Oxer bag, the Nautilus pen, the Faubourg watch, the Third Haute Bijouterie collection, the La Parfum de la Maison, the H-Deco tea and dessert service and the Lighting collection. In 2015, continuing with its tradition of offering something new and expanding the definition of luxury, Hermès collaborated with Apple in a new collection called Apple Watch Hermès. The new collection has been categorised as a true collaborative effort with each watch engraved with the Hermès signature, typeface customizable to the famous Hermès orange and its three exclusive dials paying respect to Hermès' watch face designs. It also launched a new menswear website called Le MANifeste d'Hermès, which aims to act as a guide for men's styling needs. This website has been termed by GQ magazine as having the ability to revolutionize e-commerce.

In 2016, Hermès launched its first Hermès Innovation Lab in Leeds, Yorkshire UK to implement emerging technologies including self-tracking parcels and intelligent delivery using location-based services. In 2020, it launched its second Innovation Lab in its New York store, fully constructed from sustainable materials and showcasing its efforts in sustainable design, including a wooden iteration of the iconic Kelly Bag.

Hermès regularly goes back to its roots when it needs to find inspiration for creating and launching new products. "Heritage" is one of the strongest differentiators of the core brand identity of Hermès. The following recent examples illustrate this process beautifully:

The Ring bag created in 1958 inspired the new Icon belt, which was launched in 2014. Along similar lines, the Piano belt (launched in 2014) is a re-edition of the 1954 model but with a more retro look. This rich source of inspiration comes from the Hermès Conservatory of Creations, which is an internal museum that stores every model created by the company for each product collection

Creations across product categories also regularly come together in new product offerings. In 2014, a piece of jewelry called the Mini-Dog buckle became a part of the Irving moccasin shoe

Existing classics are also extended into new product lines. In 2014, two classic scarves (Ex-libris and Peuple du vent) were extended to cowgirl bandana sizes to emulate the great American West tradition

In jewelry, the newly launched Sangles Hermès line seeks to honor the company's legacy horse harness making traditions and jewelry know-how in chain making

This intense focus on innovation within the company has also resulted in Hermès discovering new avenues for brand growth and for widening the brand's influence in the ultra-luxury segment. A very relevant example is the new project titled as "Petit H". The word immediately brings out connotations of "mini" versions of Hermès products, but in reality it is something different altogether. Hermès Petit H is the company's endeavor to encourage "luxurious recycling" of raw materials that are leftovers of building Hermès products. The project is now taken shape as a new product category within Hermès, also referred to as a new "atelier". Leftovers of manufacturing process of other products are now being crafted into unique and ultra-luxurious products under the Hermès Petit H collection.

Products created via the Petit H initiative travel around the world and are put up for temporary sale in different stores. For example, in 2014, the Petit H collection was available for sale in one store in California and one in Taiwan.

In 2015, Hermès announced that it would focus on exploring and wandering, and reflect these experiences in its brand. It opened the Wanderland exhibition that ran in London, with the exhibition moving on to Paris, Turin and China. The theme of these exhibition is flânerie, which is defined as wandering the city streets and absorbing the details of everyday life. The Wanderland exhibitions have multiple floors with bizarre themed rooms that contain exhibits from the Hermès archive.

Hermès has a huge, expanding and profitable service category of working towards bespoke requests of ultra-rich individuals. The work under this category is done through the Hermès Horizons brand name. Essentially, the deliverables revolve around specific bespoke requests of creating an object from scratch, sheathing an object from an existing Hermès collection or entire fittings or upholstery work for cars, planes and yachts. This is a clever strategy of extending the visibility and influence of the brand and also entrenching it in the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Another very strong and distinctive element of Hermès brand strategy is the concept of collaboration. In the continuation of a strategy that was adopted by the first generation of the founding family, Hermès regularly invites artists (carefully selected by senior Hermès artistic directors) to design iconic products in the company's portfolio. The collaborations that are done for the iconic scarf are under the brand name of Hermès Editeur, which in simple words stands for special editions of the Hermès scarf. Collaborations are not limited only to scarfs but also occur in other product categories and within portfolios.

The company's collaborations with brands outside the Hermès brand portfolio are consistently in the ultra-luxury space - John Lobb shoes and boots, Puiforcat tableware and dinnerware and Saint Louis glassware. In 2010, Hermès partnered with Bugatti Veyron to create the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès sports car which was completely outfitted with leather by the skilled leather artisans of Hermès. At USD 2.1 million, it was one of the most expensive cars in the world. In 2011, it also partnered with Eurocopter to design a USD 8 million helicopter.

The overall structure and positioning of the product portfolio under the Hermès brand name is a classical umbrella branding strategy. Even though every one of the products in all the categories have distinctive names, the overall Hermès name forms the core of all marketing and communication strategies. The only product that can arguably stand on its own without the Hermès name endorsement is the eponymous Birkin bag. The key strategic element of Hermès brand strategy is to maintain the aura of exclusivity and scarcity.

Hermes' family business strategy

As one of most prolific family businesses in the luxury sector, it is no easy feat for Hermès to have reined successful across 6 generations since 1837:

First generation owner and founder Thierry Hermès built a strong reputation for the company as a high-quality saddlery maker using the functional and decorative "saddle stitch"

Second generation owner: In the 1870s, Thierry passed on the business to his son Emile-Charles Hermès, who moved the business to the rue du Faubourg St. Honoré

Third generation owner: In 1922, Emile-Charles sold his stake to his son, Emile-Maurice Hermès, who began to diversify into travel- and sport-related leather goods and launched ready-to-wear clothing, watches and gloves

Fourth generation owner: In the 1930s, Emile-Maurice passed the family business on to his son-in-law, Robert Dumas, who produced the first Hermès scarf

Fifth generation owner: In 1978, the company was succeeded by Robert Dumas' fourth son Jean-Louis Dumas after his death. With experience working as a buyer for competitors, Jean-Louis Dumas transformed the business into an international luxury retailer, making the company public in 1993 and turning annual revenues from USD 82 million to USD 2 billion

Sixth generation owner: In 2010, Jean-Louis Dumas handed over the reins to his son and current Creative Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas, after his death. Jean-Louis Dumas' nephew, Axel Dumas was appointed as CEO in 2014.

The long-term success of family firms is not a given. Complexities arise when ownership, management and family roles overlap, which is a unique characteristic of family businesses. Some of the defining characteristics which have contributed to Hermès' success across six generations include:

Strong family ownership: The Hermès' family business is run on the principle of a democratic monarchy, which means that leadership and management is closely tied to the family body with board of directors composed mostly of family members across the 3 lines (Dumas, Puech, Guerrand). To keep ownership and influence within the family, a 75% majority is also required to change the company statutes or the CEO.

Strong values: The family believes that the family has obligations which are part of the family culture and ethic. Some of its values include respect for people and nature, and respect for new ideas, which spurs its culture of innovation.

Strong family pride: All family members who work in Hermès have a very strong identification and pride with the brand, with a remarkable dedication to quality and giving his or her best to preserve the family heritage. Additionally, all members of the next generation are immersed in the company from a young age through organized tours to subsidiaries and suppliers.

Strong financial structure: For Hermès, going public increased the company's' financial stability while still enabling a strong family influence. In addition, it adheres to the principle of self-financing, resulting in a 15% profit reinvestment back into the company annually.

Hermès brand communication

Brand communication and marketing strategies of Hermès always remain consistent with the principles of "heritage" and "exclusivity" of the company. Marketing campaigns celebrate the Hermès lifestyle and do not aim to directly sell products from the various ateliers. The company also sponsors events that have a direct fit with the image and the legacy of the company. In addition to these, Hermès uses strategic collaborations with independent artists and designers to raise visibility of its products. The primary aim of collaborations is to strengthen the aura of exclusivity around specific product portfolios. This is done through the classic "limited edition" strategy, but in the case of Hermès, it puts a higher degree of exclusivity to the portfolio, because Hermès products in themselves are exclusive.

In sync with the company's heritage and association with horses (and the fact that the company was founded as a saddlery manufacturer), Hermès sponsors lots of horse racing events around the world. In the beginning of 2014, it became the official sponsor of the US Show Jumping Team. The company's flagship event in the equestrian world is the annual Saut Hermès show-jumping competition held in Paris. Hermès has been organizing and managing this event on its own since 2010 and uses it as an avenue to showcase its fine leather products and its longstanding association with horses. It is also a visibility-generating avenue for Hermès among the very affluent audience of such events.

In terms of marketing and communication, Hermès is considered to be a very innovative organization. In Forbes 2014 List of 100 Most Innovative Companies, Hermès came in at number 13. In the Forbes 2020 List, it dropped to number 29, but was the only luxury brand in the Top 30. It has been using content marketing and social media platforms in a highly engaging manner in all its marketing and communication campaigns.

A very recent example is the online pop-up virtual store dedicated to the brand's silk squares, shawls, twills, scarves and stoles. Created in partnership with AKQA, lamaisondescarres.com resembles a grand house with intricate interiors, diverse characters and creatures. The website allows visitors to explore different rooms of the virtual house, which contains more than 600 models of Hermès signature silks, all of which can be clicked and purchased.

Hermès has shown ingenuity in leveraging the power of social media. There are two apps it has developed - one is called Silk Knots, which essentially is a how-to-guide that teaches how to tie the brand's scarves in 24 different ways. The second one is called Parcel Manager, which provides online shoppers with increased visibility over their shipments, and more choice and control over how they receive their parcels.

It invests significantly on TV, print, online video and online visuals to promote different collections at different times of the year. It also invests selectively in mobile advertising to target affluent readers of different publications that carries its print ads. It is also known to use humour and comical situations in its advertising, which are clever ways of showcasing its products. In 2014, it released an online video ad campaign that used comical handshakes to showcase its 2014 gloves collection. Previously, it marketed its racetrack inspired porcelain tableware line Rallye 24 by integrating the line into an online game.

The legendary "Hermès windows" have always been a very strong visual and larger-than-life platform for showcasing the brand's exquisite styling and craftsmanship heritage. The windows pop up at periodic intervals at different Hermès stores globally. The windows are considered to be the company's homage to its craftsmen. According to Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the Hermès windows are like a portal into the culture of the company. Dumas is proud to have Leïla Menchari, the brand's longstanding window designer from 1978 - 2013 design window art for the brand. During these 35 years, 136 elaborate fantasies were created with products designed specifically for the windows, of which nothing in the window was for sale. The windows are also considered to be the original progenitors of the art of communication developed within the company, a "small theatre where each role must be played well".

Hermes' Challenges

Continuous takeover interest from LVMH: The biggest challenge that Hermès has faced to its independent existence is the continued interest of rival luxury fashion house LVMH in its fortunes. LVMH quietly built up a stake of 17 percent in Hermès between 2002 and 2010. This led to a highly acrimonious and long legal dispute between the conglomerate and Hermès. As a result, LVMH had to pay a fine of USD 11 million and sell down its 23% stake to 8.5% for flouting public disclosure requirements. By 2017, LVMH had sold most of its shares in Hermès in order to take complete ownership of luxury brand Christian Dior. As a company, Hermès has fiercely protected the company's integrity and independence from this continual threat from LVMH, as seen from its setting up of a private holding company which has the first right of refusal when a family member decides to sell shares - ending any possibility of a takeover from LVMH.

In 2011, more than 50 descendants of Thierry Hermès pooled their shares into a co-operative called H51, which was valued at USD 16 billion. These descendants, who in total held 50.2 percent of company's shares, contractually agreed not to sell any shares for the next two decades. Additionally, two fifth generation family members, Bertrand Puech and Nicolas Puech, kept their shares outside the co-operative but also held out against LVMH, by granting other family members the right of first refusal if they ever decided to sell their shares. This collaborative, cohesive and united stand taken by the family members signify the importance they place on Hermès remaining and operating independently (the Hermès share value rose by 30 percent during the time LVMH was quietly accumulating shares).

Succeeding in China: Like any other luxury player, Hermès takes the opportunity that China presents very seriously. But, unlike others, it has adopted a very patient approach towards targeting the luxury market in China. Although it entered China in 1997 and quickly grew its network to 28 stores covering 19 Chinese cities, the company has taken a carefully considered decision of not opening more than one store per year from 2015.

Hermès strategy for China is innovative but also risky. It plans to use its new stores to put forward the whole Hermès brand experience in front of the Chinese consumer. The latest flagship store that opened in Shanghai in 2014 (Hermès maison) is designed like a house, has craftsmen situated on different floors actually creating products and has a museum like feel to showcase the brand's rich legacy. In addition to retail level experiences, the company is trying to forge a link with China's rich tradition of craftsmanship to increase the brand's appeal in the country. The adopted strategy is built on the principles of patience that is required for craftsmen to manufacture exquisite products, and is diametrically opposite to the fast-paced, quick gratification and shopping mall driven culture that exists in Asia.

The strategy is risky from the point of view of accessibility and exposure to the products and brands from rival fashion conglomerates (LVMH, Kering and Richemont). Also, the Chinese luxury consumer is extremely well travelled and is regularly exposed to global luxury trends. In that sense, they are used to and are one step ahead of luxury offerings in their country. To instill a sense of patience and appreciation for the aura of exclusivity and scarcity can be a challenging task for Hermès.

But, the company has also adopted an interesting parallel strategy to expand its thinking and philosophy behind luxury manufacturing and marketing in China. In 2012, it put its brand and marketing muscle behind the launch of Shang Xia, its Chinese luxury brand. Jiang Qiong'er, Shang Xia's founder, strongly believes in the tradition of Chinese craftsmanship. This was the key connection between her and the then Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas, which eventually led to the collaboration and the launch in China. But Hermès has been careful in not allowing the Shang Xia brand to dilute its own brand identity in China. Current CEO Axel Dumas has been quoted as describing Shang Xia as a "small baby". Even for Shang Xia, Hermès has adopted a longer watching strategy, with the brand expected to generate profits only in 2016.

Another advantage that Hermès has in China is the subdued, underplayed and highly exclusive positioning of its brand and the products. This matches seamlessly with the current government-led crackdown on ostentatious display of wealth, bling and logos. The Hermès brand, due to its tradition and strategy of carefully controlling distribution, no overt displays of any logos and the complete absence of any form of celebrity endorsement, is well placed to appeal to the changing definitions and perceptions of luxury among the Chinese consumer.

But again, preferences and needs for luxury can quickly shift among Chinese consumers. Hermès strategy of introducing "patience" as an element in the acquisition of its products, can either work for or against the company's fortunes in one of the world's biggest luxury markets.

Strengthening the Hermès brand equity beyond leather and silk: Hermès as a brand is known for its heritage, craftsmanship and exclusivity in the domain of ultra-luxury leather and silk products. Although the Hermès brand exists and offers products beyond leather and silk, the brand equity in some of these other product categories is not that strong.

A relevant example would be of the watchmaking division - La Montre Hermès, with a 90-year brand history. According to the watchmaking divisions' newly appointed CEO Guillaume de Seynes, the division is a small métier with great potential. In his own words, there are two potential definitions of the watchmaking division's success - "qualitative growth we can be proud of and in which we are both Hermès and watchmaker" and "the day when clients unhesitatingly compare Hermès with big established watchmaking brands, we will have succeeded". The fact that it is going to be a slow journey for the watchmaking division to establish itself is reflected in its sales history up to date. In 2019, the division contributed just 3 percent of the brand's total revenue.

The same can be said about some of the other product categories in which Hermès has a presence. Although categories like perfumes and jewelry are growing in terms of sales and revenue contribution to the overall Hermès portfolio, they are yet to reach the levels of the leather and saddlery products division success. Diversification is an important strategy for a luxury house to hedge against cyclical downturns in specific categories, fluctuating consumer demand, wider economic, social and political factors and shifting consumer needs and preferences. The challenge for Hermès in adopting and implementing a diversification strategy is the inherent nature of its exclusivity-marketing model.

In addition, it has been 36 years since Hermès had launched the iconic Birkin bag. It is a question of whether the brand can launch yet another similar iconic bag, in order to preserve exclusivity and mystique over the Birkin and to sustain brand ardour amongst its fans.

From a luxury house's perspective, decline in demand for specific product categories should be mitigated by upturns in other product categories. Limiting distribution and adopting a model of scarcity can work against this. In the case of Hermès, this is especially true for categories like accessories, watchmaking and men's and women's wear. Hermès need to be selective about the marketing model it adopts across different product categories.

Conclusion: The Hermès brand is and will continue to be ultra-luxury

Hermès is an ultra-luxury success story, without any doubt. With limited distribution, exclusivity and controlled marketing, the overall company and many of its product categories have regularly registered double-digit growth rates year-on-year. This is a true reflection of the Hermès brand strength among the highly affluent segments of the global population. The company has successfully kept alive and strengthened a brand differentiated through strong history, exquisite craftsmanship and superior quality. The fact that it is considered to be the most innovative among all the luxury fashion houses is a testament to the company's commitment to constantly manufacture and launch ultra-luxury products that are unique, have a strong sense of allure and have a distinct mark of superior craftsmanship.

The company's future looks secure in the hands of a committed and disciplined group of family scions, but it needs to constantly evolve and differentiate to maintain its superior position in the ultra-luxury segment of the market through leveraging the power of its family brand as an icon of legacy, authenticity and prestige.
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Hermès International, sometimes also referred to as Hermès of Paris or Hermes, is a French luxury goods manufacturer. It has been consistently ranked as the world's most valuable luxury brand in different valuation and ranking studies published by leading consultancies. Hermès as a brand enjoys an iconic status in the world of luxury. A combination of rich heritage, exquisite craftsmanship, eye for detail and high levels of quality and professionalism through the entire manufacturing process gives Hermès a position of superiority in the very competitive and ruthless world of luxury.

According to global brand valuation firm Interbrand, Hermès came in 28th amongst the Best Global Brands 2020. With a brand valuation of USD 18.0 billion, it trails behind Louis Vuitton, ranked 17th with a valuation of USD 31.7 billion.

Hermès is not a conglomerate in the real sense of the word and does not own a portfolio of brands like its key competitors, which include LVMH, Richemont and Kering. Currently, the range of products under the Hermès brand name includes leather goods, lifestyle accessories, furniture, fragrances, watches, jewelry, ready-to-wear and saddlery.

The leather goods and saddlery category is the biggest contributor to the company's revenues (50%), followed by ready-to-wear and accessories (23%), and silk and textiles (9%).

Background of Hermès

Thierry Hermès founded the company in 1837 as a harness workshop in Paris. Originally, his intent was to serve the needs of European noblemen by providing saddles, bridles and other leather riding gear. In the early 20th century, Thierry's son Charles-Émile Hermès moved the company's shop to 24 Rue Du Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris, where it remains to this very day and is the company's global headquarters.

Gradually, the company's product offerings expanded through generations. Between 1880 and 1900, it started selling saddlery and introduced its product in retail stores. In 1900, the company started selling the "Haut à Courroies" bag, which was meant for riders to carry their saddles in it. In 1918, Hermès introduced the first leather golf jacket with zipper, made for the then Prince of Wales. In the 1920s, accessories and clothing were introduced into the portfolio. In 1922, the first leather handbags entered the product line. The brand's travel bags introduced in 1925 were a global success. In the 1930s, Hermès introduced products that have now entered the annals of fashion as icons - the leather Sac à dépêches (renamed as the "Kelly bag" after Grace Kelly) in 1935 and the Hermès carrés (scarves) in 1937. In 1949, the first Hermès silk tie and the first perfume 'Eau d' Hermès' were introduced.

In the 1930s, the company entered the United States with an initial tie-up with the Neiman Marcus department store in New York.

The company's iconic duc-carriage-with-horse logo and signature orange boxes were introduced in the 1950s. In the 1970s, the company established a watch subsidiary La Montre Hermès in Bienne, Switzerland. The company acquired tableware manufacturers like Puiforcat, Saint Louis and Perigord in the 1980s and consolidated its position in these segments of the luxury market.

The eye of the ultra-premium luxury segment, the "Birkin bag" was introduced in 1984, after a chance conversation between the then CEO Jean-Louis Dumas and actress and singer Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London, who articulated to Dumas that she needed a medium-sized bag. Each Birkin costs between USD 12,000 to USD 300,000 and is the exquisite handiwork of a single craftsman, who takes between 18 to 25 hours to complete the job via hand, more if the hide is a delicate crocodile skin. In 2014, an extremely rare Himalayan Nilo crocodile Birkin bag sold for USD 185,000, becoming the second most expensive bag to be sold at auction. Hermès is infamously known to burn imperfect Birkins, showcasing its dedication to the finest quality.

In 1993, the company went public on the Paris Bourse, which for various reasons was considered a strategic move with its own set of weaknesses. Throughout the late 1990s, Hermès extensively followed a strategy of reducing franchise stores, by buying them up, closing quite a significant many and by opening more company-operated stores. As of 2019, Hermès operates 311 stores globally, out of which 223 were directly owned and operated by the company.

In 1976, Hermès entered into an arrangement with British luxury shoemaker John Lobb, wherein it was allowed to use its name in return for extending the distribution reach of the brand. In 1999, in one of its first non-brand moves, Hermès bought a 35 percent stake in the Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion house.

Over a period of time, the company has extended its reputation by entering into strategic collaborations with specific players and also its suppliers in the ultra-luxury segment. These include:

Setting up a joint venture with Faubourg Italia, in which Hermès holds a 60 percent share, to extend reach into the premium home furnishings segment (upholstery fabrics and wallpapers)

Holding a 30 percent share in J3L, an old French supplier of metal parts to the company

Holding a 39.5 percent stake in Perrin & Fils, which is a specialist textile weaver in a variety of categories, which include lingerie, furnishing fabrics, ready-to-wear and accessories

Holding a 25 percent stake in Vaucher, which is a manufacturer and supplier of movement parts for high-end precision watches

Acquiring a 40 percent stake in Bettina, a long-standing partner of the company who specializes in production of twillaine

Today, the brand operates 311 stores globally across the U.S., Russia and Asia and has over 15,000 employees. It is one of the largest and most admired luxury makers in the world with revenues of over USD 8.3 billion and profits of over USD 1.8 billion as at 2019. The stellar performance of the brand throughout its 183-year history is largely credited to its drive for strategic consistency, combining excellent creativity with craftsmanship as well as an unrelenting focus on the long-term against short-term benefits.

Hermes' brand philosophy

The Hermès' brand philosophy can possibly be summarised by a single sentence quote from former CEO Jean-Louis Dumas - "We don't have a policy of image, we have a policy of product".

The brand philosophy is deeply entrenched in the platforms of "quality" and "refinement". It is for these very principles that the brand has always shunned mass production, manufacturing lines and outsourcing. According to Hermès, each and every product coming out under the brand's name should reflect the hard work put into it by the artisan. Till today, Creative Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas signs off on every single Hermès product before it leaves the workshop, showing the company's unwavering commitment to the highest quality. According to current CEO Axel Dumas, the main strength of the Hermès brand is the love for craftsmanship. This is further eschewed by Pierre-Alexis Dumas, who was quoted saying "I think Hermès objects are desirable because they reconnect people to their humanity... Our customer feels the presence of the person who crafted the object, while at the same time the object brings him back to his own sensitivity, because it gives him pleasure through his senses".

The most critical aspect is that these principles around the brand have remained firm in the company's evolution in its close to 183-year-old history. The ownership, management and leadership of the company have passed through multiple generations of the Hermès family, but the principles of the Hermès brand have never been diluted. All Hermès products are made almost entirely in France in workshops (Ateliers Hermès), which places a strong emphasis on quality. Also, Hermès' claims, in line with the comments from its CEO and Creative Director, that each product is entirely manufactured by hand by only one craftsman, signifies the quality of craftsmanship and uniqueness of its products. For example, its silk scarves are only made from silk produced by Hermès farms in Brazil.

The driving force behind the platforms of quality and uniqueness is the intense desire of Hermès as a company to remain exclusive. The aura of exclusivity is important for the company because it does not intend to portray the brand and its products as mass-market luxury or even premium luxury. The philosophy and aim has always been to remain "ultra-premium luxury", which can only be afforded by the very few and is not easily available.

In line with these brand philosophies, the company does not have a marketing department. The two core drivers of the company's business engine are intuition and creativity. It is claimed that everyone in Hermès is responsible for marketing.

Hermes' brand strategy

According to the company's annual report, Hermès products are split into the following categories - leather goods and saddlery, men's and women's ready-to-wear and accessories (including footwear, belts, gloves, hats, etc.), silks and textiles, fragrances, watches, and other products (including jewelry, furniture, home accessories and furnishing, tableware, and sporting accessories). The company's brand strategy is consistent across each and every one of these product categories in which it has a presence.

The strategy that the company follows and adopts ensures the aura of exclusivity remains tightly woven around its products. The Hermès strategy, as illustrated by the examples below, revolves around its 6 values: Spirit of conquest, creativity, craftsmanship, quality, authenticity, and independence:

Spirit of Conquest (entrepreneurship): Store managers are responsible for their own store collections and are offered the freedom of purchase to meet specific needs of their customers. Twice a year, 1,000 store representatives from its global stores come to Paris for an event called "Podium". Each flagship is instructed to pick at least one item from product categories beyond the common ones (handbags, scarves, ties, fragrances, watches), which is an attempt by the company to push every flagship store to showcase and sell complementary products. This adds to the allure of the Hermès brand as not all products are available in each store and the online store only offers a selection of the company's products.

Creativity: Every year, designers are provided with a theme to create their products and designs on. The theme for 2019 was "in the pursuit of dreams". In addition, collaborations with designers are a mainstay of the company's creative pillar, especially in the home furnishings category. The objective is for both the designer and the company to benefit from each other's creative collaborations and reputations.

Craftsmanship: There is a mandatory 2-year training for a craftsman before he or she can start working on putting together any leather product in the Hermès portfolio. This slows down production time but the company's philosophy has always been to maintain scarcity and exclusivity. Hermès' leather goods division hires only 200 craftsmen a year. This practice has been in place across the company's six generations of craftsmen.

Quality: Hermès has introduced "patience" as a very strong principle and element in its strategy to achieve the highest quality in its production. Customers cannot expect to walk into a store and walk out with a Birkin bag. Instead, one has to place an order and wait for a few months before it is ready. Instead of rationing high demand by price like normal economic law dictates, Hermès rations by queue. It is often debated by economists that the queue for Hermès bags creates surplus demand which overflows into other Hermès "consolation" products like wallets and belts. In addition, all new employees and artisans are carefully selected and go through a three-day in-house training session called "Inside the Orange Box" that traces the company's origins back to its founders and the history of development of each of its product categories. The objective of this training is to make every Hermès employee feel close, involved in, and identify with the company's culture, philosophy and values, hence demonstrating the company's dedication to the quality of its brand and legacy.

Authenticity: Hermès does not look at celebrity endorsements as a brand-building tactic and has actively stayed away from this form of marketing (a practice that is quite common in the LVMH brand stables). The very fact that only A-list celebrities and the ultra-wealthy can afford and get access to their most premium and exclusive products is an authentic endorsement of the brand. Hermès also does not follow strategies of launching region-specific collections or product offers, allowing the same product collections to be sold everywhere in the world. Additionally, Hermès has always been a significant proponent and user of the "limited edition" strategy and also limits distribution of its products in its stores, demonstrating its commitment to showcasing only the most authentic products. Hermès products are also never offered on discounts.

Independence: Hermès has always asserted its independence in its shareholding structure and family ownership. By doing so, it is able to retain most of its production within France and serve its long-term vision.

Former CEO Patrick Thomas, only the second individual outside the Hermès family to have run the company, once commented, "The luxury industry is built on a paradox: the more desirable the brand becomes, the more it sells but the more it sells, the less desirable it becomes". His comment entirely encapsulates the strategy of exclusivity and scarcity that Hermès follows for its brand.

Hermès also follows a continued tradition of innovation in the ultra-luxury segment. From its early years of inception to the most recent times, the company manufactures and launches exclusive products that increases the allure of the brand and strengthens its position as an object of significant desire among its ultra-rich customer base. During the 1970s, new materials like polyester and plastic started to be in fashion, which prompted Hermès to develop new items in a bid to win over consumers. In 1979, a French advertising campaign featured a young lady with a Hermès scarf, which sparked huge global interest in the company's scarves that lasts till today. By the 1990s, Hermès was offering over 30,000 products.

In 2014, the company's new launches across different product categories included the Oxer bag, the Nautilus pen, the Faubourg watch, the Third Haute Bijouterie collection, the La Parfum de la Maison, the H-Deco tea and dessert service and the Lighting collection. In 2015, continuing with its tradition of offering something new and expanding the definition of luxury, Hermès collaborated with Apple in a new collection called Apple Watch Hermès. The new collection has been categorised as a true collaborative effort with each watch engraved with the Hermès signature, typeface customizable to the famous Hermès orange and its three exclusive dials paying respect to Hermès' watch face designs. It also launched a new menswear website called Le MANifeste d'Hermès, which aims to act as a guide for men's styling needs. This website has been termed by GQ magazine as having the ability to revolutionize e-commerce.

In 2016, Hermès launched its first Hermès Innovation Lab in Leeds, Yorkshire UK to implement emerging technologies including self-tracking parcels and intelligent delivery using location-based services. In 2020, it launched its second Innovation Lab in its New York store, fully constructed from sustainable materials and showcasing its efforts in sustainable design, including a wooden iteration of the iconic Kelly Bag.

Hermès regularly goes back to its roots when it needs to find inspiration for creating and launching new products. "Heritage" is one of the strongest differentiators of the core brand identity of Hermès. The following recent examples illustrate this process beautifully:

The Ring bag created in 1958 inspired the new Icon belt, which was launched in 2014. Along similar lines, the Piano belt (launched in 2014) is a re-edition of the 1954 model but with a more retro look. This rich source of inspiration comes from the Hermès Conservatory of Creations, which is an internal museum that stores every model created by the company for each product collection

Creations across product categories also regularly come together in new product offerings. In 2014, a piece of jewelry called the Mini-Dog buckle became a part of the Irving moccasin shoe

Existing classics are also extended into new product lines. In 2014, two classic scarves (Ex-libris and Peuple du vent) were extended to cowgirl bandana sizes to emulate the great American West tradition

In jewelry, the newly launched Sangles Hermès line seeks to honor the company's legacy horse harness making traditions and jewelry know-how in chain making

This intense focus on innovation within the company has also resulted in Hermès discovering new avenues for brand growth and for widening the brand's influence in the ultra-luxury segment. A very relevant example is the new project titled as "Petit H". The word immediately brings out connotations of "mini" versions of Hermès products, but in reality it is something different altogether. Hermès Petit H is the company's endeavor to encourage "luxurious recycling" of raw materials that are leftovers of building Hermès products. The project is now taken shape as a new product category within Hermès, also referred to as a new "atelier". Leftovers of manufacturing process of other products are now being crafted into unique and ultra-luxurious products under the Hermès Petit H collection.

Products created via the Petit H initiative travel around the world and are put up for temporary sale in different stores. For example, in 2014, the Petit H collection was available for sale in one store in California and one in Taiwan.

In 2015, Hermès announced that it would focus on exploring and wandering, and reflect these experiences in its brand. It opened the Wanderland exhibition that ran in London, with the exhibition moving on to Paris, Turin and China. The theme of these exhibition is flânerie, which is defined as wandering the city streets and absorbing the details of everyday life. The Wanderland exhibitions have multiple floors with bizarre themed rooms that contain exhibits from the Hermès archive.

Hermès has a huge, expanding and profitable service category of working towards bespoke requests of ultra-rich individuals. The work under this category is done through the Hermès Horizons brand name. Essentially, the deliverables revolve around specific bespoke requests of creating an object from scratch, sheathing an object from an existing Hermès collection or entire fittings or upholstery work for cars, planes and yachts. This is a clever strategy of extending the visibility and influence of the brand and also entrenching it in the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Another very strong and distinctive element of Hermès brand strategy is the concept of collaboration. In the continuation of a strategy that was adopted by the first generation of the founding family, Hermès regularly invites artists (carefully selected by senior Hermès artistic directors) to design iconic products in the company's portfolio. The collaborations that are done for the iconic scarf are under the brand name of Hermès Editeur, which in simple words stands for special editions of the Hermès scarf. Collaborations are not limited only to scarfs but also occur in other product categories and within portfolios.

The company's collaborations with brands outside the Hermès brand portfolio are consistently in the ultra-luxury space - John Lobb shoes and boots, Puiforcat tableware and dinnerware and Saint Louis glassware. In 2010, Hermès partnered with Bugatti Veyron to create the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès sports car which was completely outfitted with leather by the skilled leather artisans of Hermès. At USD 2.1 million, it was one of the most expensive cars in the world. In 2011, it also partnered with Eurocopter to design a USD 8 million helicopter.

The overall structure and positioning of the product portfolio under the Hermès brand name is a classical umbrella branding strategy. Even though every one of the products in all the categories have distinctive names, the overall Hermès name forms the core of all marketing and communication strategies. The only product that can arguably stand on its own without the Hermès name endorsement is the eponymous Birkin bag. The key strategic element of Hermès brand strategy is to maintain the aura of exclusivity and scarcity.

Hermes' family business strategy

As one of most prolific family businesses in the luxury sector, it is no easy feat for Hermès to have reined successful across 6 generations since 1837:

First generation owner and founder Thierry Hermès built a strong reputation for the company as a high-quality saddlery maker using the functional and decorative "saddle stitch"

Second generation owner: In the 1870s, Thierry passed on the business to his son Emile-Charles Hermès, who moved the business to the rue du Faubourg St. Honoré

Third generation owner: In 1922, Emile-Charles sold his stake to his son, Emile-Maurice Hermès, who began to diversify into travel- and sport-related leather goods and launched ready-to-wear clothing, watches and gloves

Fourth generation owner: In the 1930s, Emile-Maurice passed the family business on to his son-in-law, Robert Dumas, who produced the first Hermès scarf

Fifth generation owner: In 1978, the company was succeeded by Robert Dumas' fourth son Jean-Louis Dumas after his death. With experience working as a buyer for competitors, Jean-Louis Dumas transformed the business into an international luxury retailer, making the company public in 1993 and turning annual revenues from USD 82 million to USD 2 billion

Sixth generation owner: In 2010, Jean-Louis Dumas handed over the reins to his son and current Creative Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas, after his death. Jean-Louis Dumas' nephew, Axel Dumas was appointed as CEO in 2014.

The long-term success of family firms is not a given. Complexities arise when ownership, management and family roles overlap, which is a unique characteristic of family businesses. Some of the defining characteristics which have contributed to Hermès' success across six generations include:

Strong family ownership: The Hermès' family business is run on the principle of a democratic monarchy, which means that leadership and management is closely tied to the family body with board of directors composed mostly of family members across the 3 lines (Dumas, Puech, Guerrand). To keep ownership and influence within the family, a 75% majority is also required to change the company statutes or the CEO.

Strong values: The family believes that the family has obligations which are part of the family culture and ethic. Some of its values include respect for people and nature, and respect for new ideas, which spurs its culture of innovation.

Strong family pride: All family members who work in Hermès have a very strong identification and pride with the brand, with a remarkable dedication to quality and giving his or her best to preserve the family heritage. Additionally, all members of the next generation are immersed in the company from a young age through organized tours to subsidiaries and suppliers.

Strong financial structure: For Hermès, going public increased the company's' financial stability while still enabling a strong family influence. In addition, it adheres to the principle of self-financing, resulting in a 15% profit reinvestment back into the company annually.

Hermès brand communication

Brand communication and marketing strategies of Hermès always remain consistent with the principles of "heritage" and "exclusivity" of the company. Marketing campaigns celebrate the Hermès lifestyle and do not aim to directly sell products from the various ateliers. The company also sponsors events that have a direct fit with the image and the legacy of the company. In addition to these, Hermès uses strategic collaborations with independent artists and designers to raise visibility of its products. The primary aim of collaborations is to strengthen the aura of exclusivity around specific product portfolios. This is done through the classic "limited edition" strategy, but in the case of Hermès, it puts a higher degree of exclusivity to the portfolio, because Hermès products in themselves are exclusive.

In sync with the company's heritage and association with horses (and the fact that the company was founded as a saddlery manufacturer), Hermès sponsors lots of horse racing events around the world. In the beginning of 2014, it became the official sponsor of the US Show Jumping Team. The company's flagship event in the equestrian world is the annual Saut Hermès show-jumping competition held in Paris. Hermès has been organizing and managing this event on its own since 2010 and uses it as an avenue to showcase its fine leather products and its longstanding association with horses. It is also a visibility-generating avenue for Hermès among the very affluent audience of such events.

In terms of marketing and communication, Hermès is considered to be a very innovative organization. In Forbes 2014 List of 100 Most Innovative Companies, Hermès came in at number 13. In the Forbes 2020 List, it dropped to number 29, but was the only luxury brand in the Top 30. It has been using content marketing and social media platforms in a highly engaging manner in all its marketing and communication campaigns.

A very recent example is the online pop-up virtual store dedicated to the brand's silk squares, shawls, twills, scarves and stoles. Created in partnership with AKQA, lamaisondescarres.com resembles a grand house with intricate interiors, diverse characters and creatures. The website allows visitors to explore different rooms of the virtual house, which contains more than 600 models of Hermès signature silks, all of which can be clicked and purchased.

Hermès has shown ingenuity in leveraging the power of social media. There are two apps it has developed - one is called Silk Knots, which essentially is a how-to-guide that teaches how to tie the brand's scarves in 24 different ways. The second one is called Parcel Manager, which provides online shoppers with increased visibility over their shipments, and more choice and control over how they receive their parcels.

It invests significantly on TV, print, online video and online visuals to promote different collections at different times of the year. It also invests selectively in mobile advertising to target affluent readers of different publications that carries its print ads. It is also known to use humour and comical situations in its advertising, which are clever ways of showcasing its products. In 2014, it released an online video ad campaign that used comical handshakes to showcase its 2014 gloves collection. Previously, it marketed its racetrack inspired porcelain tableware line Rallye 24 by integrating the line into an online game.

The legendary "Hermès windows" have always been a very strong visual and larger-than-life platform for showcasing the brand's exquisite styling and craftsmanship heritage. The windows pop up at periodic intervals at different Hermès stores globally. The windows are considered to be the company's homage to its craftsmen. According to Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the Hermès windows are like a portal into the culture of the company. Dumas is proud to have Leïla Menchari, the brand's longstanding window designer from 1978 - 2013 design window art for the brand. During these 35 years, 136 elaborate fantasies were created with products designed specifically for the windows, of which nothing in the window was for sale. The windows are also considered to be the original progenitors of the art of communication developed within the company, a "small theatre where each role must be played well".

Hermes' Challenges

Continuous takeover interest from LVMH: The biggest challenge that Hermès has faced to its independent existence is the continued interest of rival luxury fashion house LVMH in its fortunes. LVMH quietly built up a stake of 17 percent in Hermès between 2002 and 2010. This led to a highly acrimonious and long legal dispute between the conglomerate and Hermès. As a result, LVMH had to pay a fine of USD 11 million and sell down its 23% stake to 8.5% for flouting public disclosure requirements. By 2017, LVMH had sold most of its shares in Hermès in order to take complete ownership of luxury brand Christian Dior. As a company, Hermès has fiercely protected the company's integrity and independence from this continual threat from LVMH, as seen from its setting up of a private holding company which has the first right of refusal when a family member decides to sell shares - ending any possibility of a takeover from LVMH.

In 2011, more than 50 descendants of Thierry Hermès pooled their shares into a co-operative called H51, which was valued at USD 16 billion. These descendants, who in total held 50.2 percent of company's shares, contractually agreed not to sell any shares for the next two decades. Additionally, two fifth generation family members, Bertrand Puech and Nicolas Puech, kept their shares outside the co-operative but also held out against LVMH, by granting other family members the right of first refusal if they ever decided to sell their shares. This collaborative, cohesive and united stand taken by the family members signify the importance they place on Hermès remaining and operating independently (the Hermès share value rose by 30 percent during the time LVMH was quietly accumulating shares).

Succeeding in China: Like any other luxury player, Hermès takes the opportunity that China presents very seriously. But, unlike others, it has adopted a very patient approach towards targeting the luxury market in China. Although it entered China in 1997 and quickly grew its network to 28 stores covering 19 Chinese cities, the company has taken a carefully considered decision of not opening more than one store per year from 2015.

Hermès strategy for China is innovative but also risky. It plans to use its new stores to put forward the whole Hermès brand experience in front of the Chinese consumer. The latest flagship store that opened in Shanghai in 2014 (Hermès maison) is designed like a house, has craftsmen situated on different floors actually creating products and has a museum like feel to showcase the brand's rich legacy. In addition to retail level experiences, the company is trying to forge a link with China's rich tradition of craftsmanship to increase the brand's appeal in the country. The adopted strategy is built on the principles of patience that is required for craftsmen to manufacture exquisite products, and is diametrically opposite to the fast-paced, quick gratification and shopping mall driven culture that exists in Asia.

The strategy is risky from the point of view of accessibility and exposure to the products and brands from rival fashion conglomerates (LVMH, Kering and Richemont). Also, the Chinese luxury consumer is extremely well travelled and is regularly exposed to global luxury trends. In that sense, they are used to and are one step ahead of luxury offerings in their country. To instill a sense of patience and appreciation for the aura of exclusivity and scarcity can be a challenging task for Hermès.

But, the company has also adopted an interesting parallel strategy to expand its thinking and philosophy behind luxury manufacturing and marketing in China. In 2012, it put its brand and marketing muscle behind the launch of Shang Xia, its Chinese luxury brand. Jiang Qiong'er, Shang Xia's founder, strongly believes in the tradition of Chinese craftsmanship. This was the key connection between her and the then Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas, which eventually led to the collaboration and the launch in China. But Hermès has been careful in not allowing the Shang Xia brand to dilute its own brand identity in China. Current CEO Axel Dumas has been quoted as describing Shang Xia as a "small baby". Even for Shang Xia, Hermès has adopted a longer watching strategy, with the brand expected to generate profits only in 2016.

Another advantage that Hermès has in China is the subdued, underplayed and highly exclusive positioning of its brand and the products. This matches seamlessly with the current government-led crackdown on ostentatious display of wealth, bling and logos. The Hermès brand, due to its tradition and strategy of carefully controlling distribution, no overt displays of any logos and the complete absence of any form of celebrity endorsement, is well placed to appeal to the changing definitions and perceptions of luxury among the Chinese consumer.

But again, preferences and needs for luxury can quickly shift among Chinese consumers. Hermès strategy of introducing "patience" as an element in the acquisition of its products, can either work for or against the company's fortunes in one of the world's biggest luxury markets.

Strengthening the Hermès brand equity beyond leather and silk: Hermès as a brand is known for its heritage, craftsmanship and exclusivity in the domain of ultra-luxury leather and silk products. Although the Hermès brand exists and offers products beyond leather and silk, the brand equity in some of these other product categories is not that strong.

A relevant example would be of the watchmaking division - La Montre Hermès, with a 90-year brand history. According to the watchmaking divisions' newly appointed CEO Guillaume de Seynes, the division is a small métier with great potential. In his own words, there are two potential definitions of the watchmaking division's success - "qualitative growth we can be proud of and in which we are both Hermès and watchmaker" and "the day when clients unhesitatingly compare Hermès with big established watchmaking brands, we will have succeeded". The fact that it is going to be a slow journey for the watchmaking division to establish itself is reflected in its sales history up to date. In 2019, the division contributed just 3 percent of the brand's total revenue.

The same can be said about some of the other product categories in which Hermès has a presence. Although categories like perfumes and jewelry are growing in terms of sales and revenue contribution to the overall Hermès portfolio, they are yet to reach the levels of the leather and saddlery products division success. Diversification is an important strategy for a luxury house to hedge against cyclical downturns in specific categories, fluctuating consumer demand, wider economic, social and political factors and shifting consumer needs and preferences. The challenge for Hermès in adopting and implementing a diversification strategy is the inherent nature of its exclusivity-marketing model.

In addition, it has been 36 years since Hermès had launched the iconic Birkin bag. It is a question of whether the brand can launch yet another similar iconic bag, in order to preserve exclusivity and mystique over the Birkin and to sustain brand ardour amongst its fans.

From a luxury house's perspective, decline in demand for specific product categories should be mitigated by upturns in other product categories. Limiting distribution and adopting a model of scarcity can work against this. In the case of Hermès, this is especially true for categories like accessories, watchmaking and men's and women's wear. Hermès need to be selective about the marketing model it adopts across different product categories.

Conclusion: The Hermès brand is and will continue to be ultra-luxury

Hermès is an ultra-luxury success story, without any doubt. With limited distribution, exclusivity and controlled marketing, the overall company and many of its product categories have regularly registered double-digit growth rates year-on-year. This is a true reflection of the Hermès brand strength among the highly affluent segments of the global population. The company has successfully kept alive and strengthened a brand differentiated through strong history, exquisite craftsmanship and superior quality. The fact that it is considered to be the most innovative among all the luxury fashion houses is a testament to the company's commitment to constantly manufacture and launch ultra-luxury products that are unique, have a strong sense of allure and have a distinct mark of superior craftsmanship.

The company's future looks secure in the hands of a committed and disciplined group of family scions, but it needs to constantly evolve and differentiate to maintain its superior position in the ultra-luxury segment of the market through leveraging the power of its family brand as an icon of legacy, authenticity and prestige.
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About the author: Martin Roll - Business & Brand Strategist

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What Sets Us Apart

Past models of culture have profiled people from different geographical regions and countries according to sets of cultural characteristics. In the 21st Century this "essentialist" approach has been heavily criticised for encouraging people to think in stereotypes-yet many intercultural training organisations still rely only on essentialist-cultural models.

Our approach is more realistic while offering more depth: we provide usable, practical information supported by valuable research, while drawing on our experts' knowledge and insights into customs, individual and world-views. The final result is a service the helps you avoid the diversion of cultural stereotyping.

Colonial Past, Global Future (Why KIT?)

KIT was founded in 1910 to gather knowledge of other cultures and to promote Dutch trade and industry around the world. Since 1968 KIT Intercultural Professionals has been providing pre-departure trainings for tropical destinations. In 1986 the Debriefing Center was opened, and since 1997 we have been building our trainer and expert network to offer global expertise. Based on our long-standing experience and extensive expert network we have developed effective programmes focused on international leadership, intercultural communication, cross cultural understanding and diversity.

Over 100 years of intercultural experience

Highly qualified, dedicated cultural-trainers

International network of over 300 (country) experts

Training, consulting and coaching tailored to individual circumstances

Reliable assessment tools

Historic-building training location in Amsterdam

ISO 9001 Certification

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Intercultural Professionals - KIT Royal Tropical Institute

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At the individual level, we believe that self-awareness is essential to creating intercultural success. Participants in our programmes become aware of their individual preferences and habits, explore what reactions these may elicit from others, and how this relates to cultural experiences. At the same time our trainers and experts help candidates analyse these situations in ...

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Essay on Intercultural Communication -- Communication