Strong Asia pushes Birkin bag maker Hermes' sales up 16% for Q4

[MILAN] Sales at Birkin bag maker Hermes recovered sharply for the fourth quarter to grow by 16 per cent thanks to a strong performance in Asia and soaring online revenues, the group said on Friday.

Sales rose by 47 per cent in Asia for the October-December period, with China, South Korea and Australia driving the rebound.

For the whole of 2020, revenues at constant exchange rates declined by just 6 per cent to 6.39 billion euros (S$10.26 billion), one of the best performances in the luxury goods sector which has been hit hard by store closures and the lack of tourist flows due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The absence of tourists was offset by the loyalty of our local customers and a strong increase in online sales," Hermes'executive chairman Axel Dumas told reporters.

He declined to elaborate on what proportion of overall sales had taken place online but said e-commerce had grown by 100 per cent or more in all regions.

REUTERS