Hermes plans price rises, says no sign of slowdown

STORY: The taste for luxury showed no sign of slowing down for wealthy consumers on Thursday (October 20).

Hermes said it saw a sharp rise in sales over the third quarter.

The Birkin bag maker followed upbeat comments made by rival Louis Vuitton owner LVMH from earlier this month.

It pushed back on concerns the industry's post-health crisis boom could be cooling due to a looming recession.

The brand found U.S. shoppers took advantage of the dollar's strength in Europe, and China rebounded sharply.

It comes after LVMH kicked off the earnings season last week with forecast-beating sales - and no signs of a let-up in demand.

Hermes did say it planned to raise prices by 5 to 10% next year on rising costs and currency movement.

Hermes - which has waiting lists for its prized $10,000-plus handbags - has so far not raised prices as aggressively as some of its rivals did during the health crisis.

It lifted prices by around 4% this year - that's compared to competitor Chanel, which saw double-digit price hikes.

Sales in the three months to September came to just over $3 billion - double analyst expectations.

In Asia outside of Japan revenues were up 34% over the period.

Shares were up 3% in early trade but fell back later in the day.

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