Hermès strikes a balance with its retail network

Hermès' international retail development is continuing this year in the same manner as previous years - internationally. But in its domestic market, the Parisian luxury fashion house is progressively restructuring its network, closing its smallest boutiques in medium-size cities. After Rouen, the label will bring down the curtain on its Avignon store.

"Historically, we've always been very present in France. But consumer behaviour is changing. Our stores in medium-size cities are smaller with a narrower range on offer. If there is a large conurbation nearby, that's where the customers go. Medium-size towns are running out of steam. On the other hand, business is booming in big cities like Marseille," retail director at Hermès, Florian Craen, explains to FashionNetwork.com.

"In fact, we close more stores than we open," he adds. Indeed, the label makes adjustments to its network every year, and not only on the French market. As a result, it has closed its boutique in Charlotte, North Carolina, which had opened in 2006. Also closed was its concession dedicated to watches and jewellery - a unique sales point for the label - in Harrods, London, where the label is already present with another space.

At the time of publication of its annual results on March 22, the group counted 315 stores in its worldwide network, of which 33 were in France. At the time, CEO Axel Dumas emphasised that the number of stores had hovered around 315 for five or six years. And so, for 2017 and 2018, 3 new openings have been forecast per year.

"We've gone ahead with the closing of small airport concessions. We prefer to focus on department stores. We have to go where the customers lead us. When I open a sales point, it's for the local consumers and not for tourists," he declared.

During the second quarter of 2017, three new Hermès boutiques will see the light: in Istanbul; in Sao Paulo at the Iguatemi shopping centre; and in Changsha, capital of Hunan province in central China. A market about which the label is bullish, planning one opening per year. "Until now, China was a very masculine market. Now, women's fashion is catching up. And Chinese customers have changed - they're not keen on logos any more and we've benefited from that," Dumas explained in March.

"What is interesting is the speed with which the Chinese have turned towards those with specialist know-how, as well as their ability to make purchases across all trades. Their body of knowledge has grown at a phenomenal speed and the client base is younger and younger," he beamed of the Chinese consumer upturn. Even if their purchases, he noted, "are no longer at the level we were familiar with in the past."

Hermès strikes a balance with its retail network

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