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Hermes Q1 Sales Jump 17% on Growth Across Regions

(FILES) An employee holds a USD129,000 crocodile Hermes Birkin Bag for the press to see during a private opening for the new Hermes store on Wall Street in New York 21 June 2007. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)
(FILES) An employee holds a USD129,000 crocodile Hermes Birkin Bag for the press to see during a private opening for the new Hermes store on Wall Street in New York 21 June 2007. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)
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Hermes Q1 Sales Jump 17% on Growth Across Regions

(FILES) An employee holds a USD129,000 crocodile Hermes Birkin Bag for the press to see during a private opening for the new Hermes store on Wall Street in New York 21 June 2007. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)
(FILES) An employee holds a USD129,000 crocodile Hermes Birkin Bag for the press to see during a private opening for the new Hermes store on Wall Street in New York 21 June 2007. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)

Birkin bag maker Hermes reported a 17% surge in first-quarter sales on Thursday, sustaining a rapid growth rate from the previous quarter and underlining strong demand for high end luxury.
Sales rose to 3.81 billion euros ($4.08 billion) for the three months to March 31 and beat expectations for a 13% rise, according to consensus provider Visible Alpha.
One of the most consistent performers in the luxury goods sector, Hermes is known for its ability to maintain strong growth even in the face of deteriorating economic conditions.
Its first-quarter growth far outpaced larger rival LVMH , underlining the strength of businesses operating in the top end of the market and defying broader weakness in key market China.
Sales updates from several leading luxury groups including LVMH and Kering have offered little reassurance that Chinese demand for high-end fashion is bouncing back, Reuters reported.
Hermes, which sells handbags priced at more than $10,000, said its sales in Asia excluding Japan grew 14%, and all other regions reported double-digit rises.
The company saw "slightly softer" traffic in China in March following the Chinese New Year holiday, Eric du Halgouet, executive vice-president finance, told journalists.
However strong demand from wealthier clients offset a reduction in purchases by those seeking more affordable silk items and fashion accessories, he said.

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Fashion

80-year-old LL Bean Staple Finds New Audience as Trendy Bag

Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
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80-year-old LL Bean Staple Finds New Audience as Trendy Bag

Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

L.L. Bean created it 80 years ago to haul heavy blocks of ice. Now it's a must-have summer fashion accessory, The Associated Press reported.

The simple, sturdy canvas bag called the Boat and Tote is having an extended moment 80 years after its introduction, thanks to a social media trend in which they're monogrammed with ironic or flashy phrases.

New Yorker Gracie Wiener helped get it started by ordering her humble bags from L.L. Bean monogrammed with “Psycho” and then “Prada,” the pricey Italian luxury brand, instead of just her name or initials, and posting about them on Instagram. Then others began showcasing their own unique bags on TikTok.

Soon, it wasn’t enough to have a bag monogrammed with “Schlepper,” “HOT MESS,” “slayyyy” or “cool mom.” Customers began testing the limits of the human censors in L.L. Bean’s monogram department, which bans profanity “or other objectionable words or phrases,” with more provocative wording like “Bite me,” “Dum Blonde” and “Ambitchous.”

Social media fueled the surge, just as it did for Stanley’s tumblers and Trader Joe’s $2.99 canvas bags, which were once selling on eBay for $200, said Beth Goldstein, an analyst at Circana, which tracks consumer spending and trends.
The tote’s revival came at a time when price-conscious consumers were forgoing expensive handbags, sales of which have weakened, and L.L. Bean’s bag fit the bill as a functional item that’s trendy precisely because it’s not trendy, she said. L.L. Bean's regular bags top out at about $55, though some fancier versions cost upward of $100.
“There’s a trend toward the utilitarian, the simple things and more accessible price points,” she said, and the customization added to the appeal: “Status items don’t have to be designer price points.”

L.L. Bean’s tote was first advertised in a catalog as Bean’s Ice Carrier in 1944 during World War II, when ice chests were common. Then they disappeared before being reintroduced in 1965 as the Boat and Tote.

These days, they’re still made in Maine and are still capable of hauling 500 pounds of ice, but they are far more likely to carry laptops, headphones, groceries, books, beach gear, travel essentials and other common items.

Those snarky, pop-oriented phrases transformed them into a sassy essential and helped them spread beyond Maine, Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and other New England enclaves to places like Los Angeles and New York City, where fashionistas like Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker are toting them — but not necessarily brandished with ironic phrases.

“It’s just one of those things that makes people smile and makes people laugh, and it’s unexpected,” said Wiener, who got it all started with her @ironicboatandtote Instagram page, which she started as a fun side hustle from her job as social media manager for Air Mail, a digital publication launched by former Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter.

The folks at L.L. Bean were both stunned and pleased by the continuing growth. For the past two years, the Boat and Tote has been L.L. Bean’s No. 1 contributor to luring in new customers, and sales grew 64% from fiscal years 2021 to 2023, spokesperson Amanda Hannah said.

The surge in popularity is reminiscent of L.L. Bean’s traditional hunting shoe, the iconic staple for trudging through rain and muck, which enjoyed its own moment a few years back, driven by college students.