Q & A with Axel Dumas
Why did Hermes choose to open its new store in Sanlitun, Beijing? What message do you want to send to the market?
Hermes has a special bond with China, and we really love China. We have always had a special presence in Beijing because we have our first store here.
Since 2013, we decided that, for our strategy in China, we wouldn't want too many stores, and we sometimes have fewer stores than our competitors, but we would like to "conquer" a new city or have a new store every year. The idea is to continue growing in China.
Since opening in Beijing in 1997, Hermes has seen steady growth. What has been most challenging, and what drives that growth?
The potential for growth due to the quality of the clientele and the love for the brand is very good. The Chinese market has been very kind to us. I will not say it's a challenge. It's also the beauty of this market: its speed. You need to be agile, open-minded, and have curiosity.
Amid global uncertainty, how do you see Chinese consumer preferences evolving, and how is Hermes adapting?
The uncertainty of the market is not specific to China. I take the long view. We started thinking about the Sanlitun store in 2020, almost six years ago. We never changed the plan. Consistency is very important.
Regarding Chinese clients, one thing is that they want authentic craftsmanship. They are very discerning, knowledgeable and have a real interest in authenticity. I'm always amazed at how quickly the Chinese become at the top of anything. I believe some Chinese would know more about Burgundy than some French people at times.
The second thing is that Chinese clients are quite competitive and they want the best. When Chinese customers traveled abroad specifically to buy Hermes products, they sought us out because they recognized the quality of our craft. That was the best advertisement we could ever have.
Chinese customers also have great respect for heritage. So it's a wonderful mix: they're highly knowledgeable and seek authentic craft, and they also respect the legacy of iconic brands like Hermes.
The market is highly competitive. What makes Hermes distinctive?
A complicated question. I like being competitive. Our market is great because everyone can succeed. If there is competition, that means there is interest, the clients are there and people care. So I view competition more as a quality than as trouble.
The main difference is our products. We take great care when making them because we use the best craftsmanship and the best materials. I don't know if it's rational, but we still decide, after all these years, that one bag is made by one man, by someone who really cares about it and gives it a soul.
Every year, we repair thousands of bags. There is nothing I like more than seeing a granddaughter bring her grandmother's old Kelly bag to be repaired.
As the sixth-generation leader, how do you view your responsibility as CEO?
I'm working so that my grandchildren are proud of me. I feel very lucky to manage this company, because of all the work that has been done before, and I have the luck to work with dedicated people. Of course, that includes the Chinese team. I know some craftsmen whose fathers knew my father and mother, and whose grandfathers knew my grandfather and grandmother. That kind of generational connection is rare and precious, so I feel very blessed and humbled.
The one thing that I did, maybe, was fight for the independence of the group. I think we are in a marketing world where it's really important to do what you say, and say what you do. We put craftsmanship, authenticity and creativity at the center of what we do.
How do you balance innovation, creativity and Hermes heritage?
There is a French saying from 19th-century poet Baudelaire: "Beauty is the mix of two things, a portion of the eternal and a portion of newness."
What I really want to respect is the craftsmanship and the quality of the leather, but we need to reinvent ourselves.
My uncle used to say to me, "Axel, you can change anything at Hermes, just make sure that it looks like it's already been there." There is this constant evolution. For example, our collection of silk and ready-to-wear changes fully every six months. We have new bags, but we also have bags that were designed by my grandfather 90 years ago.
Something that I like about Hermes is that we don't have a marketing department. So we are not looking at what is working in the market, and we never develop a collection for any country or a specific client. And we never do anything for a specific price. So there is this kind of freedom. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work. When a design does not work, it's OK, because we are craftsmen, we don't have a big factory to do it. It's just OK — not a bad idea and not a good idea. Let's do something else.
How does Hermes view China's luxury landscape in 2026 and beyond?
The Sanlitun store is our biggest store in Beijing, which means we continue to invest. Something that changed in 2012 and 2014 worldwide is that before then, the main indicator to know the client's response was GDP growth. Basically, the country was growing with a good GDP. More middle-class people started to buy. But now people are not buying based on GDP growth; they are mostly buying based on real estate and stock market strength. There has been difficulty in the real estate market. Therefore, people have been more cautious, and their savings have increased, but I think they just need to regain confidence. I have no doubt that the Chinese market is the future for us.
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