French luxury fashion firm Hermes is celebrating rising profits, as wealthy customers continue to spend big on silk scarves and expensive handbags.
The fashion house posted a 15% jump in profits to £1.2 billion last year as sales climbed 7.5% to £5.1 billion. Hermes jewellery, bathing products and performed particularly well, with sales up 20%. There was also strong demand for shoes such as their calfskin jumping boots, which sell for £2,330 a pair.
Half of the firm's sales come from Asia, raking in £2.5billion from customers in the region, an 8.6% increase on a year earlier. Handbags and other leather goods contributed to the bulk of sales, rising by 6.3% to £2.6 billion.
Chairman Axel Dumas said: “This year again, Hermes achieves a remarkable performance and confirms the strength of the group's growth model.”
Hermes is owned by luxury group Kering which also houses brands such as Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga. It employs 14,284 staff around the world and has shops in France, Japan, the US and the UK.
