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Hermès to open two new leather goods factories in France by 2026
Hermès has announced the opening of two new leather factories, one in Gironde and the other in Charente. Leather goods and saddlery, which account for almost half of the group’s total revenues reaching 8.9 billion euros in 2021, are at the heart of its growth. For 2022, this revenue should grow by 6-7% in volume. At this rate, the French luxury house must continue to strengthen its production capacities.
The company announced in a press release the construction of a new production site in Isle-d’Espagnac, in Charente, by 2025. This new factory will join the list of leather goods manufacturing plants in the southwest, which includes leather goods factories in Nontron and Montbron, and the gloves and leather goods site in Saint-Junien, which have been present in the region for more than 25 years. A new factory has additionally been built in Loupes, Gironde.
Two more Hermès leather goods workshops were inaugurated in France in 2021, bringing the total number of Hermès production sites in the country to 19: one in Montereau (Seine-et-Marne) in June, followed by the Guyenne leather goods workshop in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (Gironde) in September. The Louviers (Eure) leather goods plant is scheduled to open in 2022, followed by the Sormonne (Ardennes) factory in 2023 and a new site in Riom (Puy-de-Dôme) in 2024.
"The new manufacturing site in Loupes, along with the leather goods factory in Guyenne, will be the eighth leather goods production center of Hermès in the Gironde region, and will eventually employ more than 500 craftsmen. This new site will be inaugurated in 2026," stated the saddlery company.
Since 2010, the firm has opened nine leather goods workshops in France, bringing the number of the group's saddlery and leather goods craftsmen to more than 4,300. The L'Isle-d'Espagnac and Loupes factories will be the company's 23rd and 24th leather goods workshops, all located in France.
These investments are crucial for Hermès, as demonstrated by its latest annual results. Its leather goods and saddlery division achieved a turnover of €4.09 million, up nearly 29% compared to 2020 and 22.8% compared to the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
However, after selling some of its stocks during the pandemic, the company's production capacity could not fully meet the very high demand at the end of the year. Its leather goods sales dropped by 5.4% (down 3.3% in published data) in the last three months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.
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