The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The author has shared a YouTube video.
You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future.
Created by BoF’s journalists and editors, in conjunction with our wider network of leading fashion creatives, thought-leaders, and innovators, Masterclasses are in-depth webinars with supporting resources, designed to deliver key learning outcomes on critical industry topics.
Hermès’ success goes far beyond the “grail” status surrounding its iconic Birkin and Kelly bags, according to experts who joined BoF’s luxury editor Robert Williams for this Masterclass exploring how the storied, family-run leather goods brand has become one of the industry’s most valuable companies.
“It’s because they do things differently that they’ve been so successful and that they have so much self-determination and differentiation in the market,” said Williams, author of a recent BoF case study on the topic, in discussion with Alexandre Samson, head of contemporary design at the Paris-based fashion museum Palais Galliera; Aurélie Husson-Dumoutier, HSBC luxury analyst; and Michel Campan, a fashion strategist at various luxury houses including Hermès and now an independent consultant.
Another factor working in Hermès’ favour, added Campan, is how it defines success through “a long-term vision of 20, 30 years, not just one or two years … with just one shot, one collection.”
Exclusive to BoF Professional members.
How a unique approach to supply chain, design, communications and retail has powered blockbuster demand for iconic bags like the Birkin and Kelly, enabling the French leather goods house to face down rivals and become a global megabrand with a market capitalisation greater than Nike’s.
Tapestry and Capri have been trying to become the US’s answer to LVMH for the past eight years but Federal Trade Commission precedent indicates both companies could face battling the behemoth alone.
As the French luxury group attempts to get back on track, investors, former insiders and industry observers say the group needs a far more drastic overhaul than it has planned, reports Bloomberg.
After growing the brand’s annual sales to nearly €2.5 billion, the star designer has been locked in a thorny contract negotiation with owner LVMH that could lead to his exit, sources say. BoF breaks down what Slimane brought to Celine and what his departure could mean.
Balenciaga’s deputy CEO Laura du Rusquec will replace Andrea Baldo as the Danish brand aims to elevate its image.