Exchange Rate Fluctuations And European Terrorist Attacks Have Affected Hermes.

French luxury brand Herm s International SCA announced on Thursday that sales growth slowed sharply in the first half of the year, mainly due to exchange rate fluctuations and European terrorist attacks.

It is reported that

Sales in the first half of 2016 amounted to 2 billion 400 million euros (US $2 billion 600 million), an increase of 6% over the same period last year, but far below the 20% growth rate in the first half of 2015.

Hermes has not disclosed its profit in the first half of 2016, which will be announced later this year.

But it said that operating profit in the first half of the year increased by 1% compared with the same period last year, mainly due to the company's foreign exchange hedging performance last year.

By product category, Hermes company

Sales of handbags and harnesses increased by 16% in the first half of 2016, while perfume sales were higher than those in the first half of 2015, while Hermes's clothing and silk products decreased in the first half of 2016.

By region, under the constant exchange rate, Hermes said that despite its terrorist attacks, its sales in Europe (excluding France) increased by 8%.

Sales in Japan increased by 10%, while sales in the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) increased by 5%, while sales in Hongkong and Macao were "challenging".

Hermes is still cautious about its future prospects.

The company reiterated its previous warning that its annual revenue growth in 2016 will be below 8%.

The slowdown in sales of high-end luxury goods reflects the challenges of exchange rate fluctuations in this sector, and after the terrorist attacks in Europe, the market is unstable and consumer confidence is weak.

"Axel" Dumas, chief executive of Hermes, said on Thursday:

The incident has brought heavy pressure to France. "

Hermes is the first luxury company in Europe to give the main first half sales report.

Due to geopolitical and monetary turmoil, analysts will pay close attention to the financial reports of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, Louis Weedon (Louis Vuitton), Kering group and Italy Tod's SpA, Yoox Net-A-Porter, and Louis, and all companies' reports will be announced next week.

As of press release, Hermes's share price rose 3% in early trading, at 365 euros per share.

Hermes says sales in France account for about 14% of total revenue, which is mainly consumed by local customers.

Mr. Dumas said: "we haven't seen any improvement in the travel traffic in France, but we will not see any emergency to prevent customers from coming."

Luca Solca, a luxury industry analyst at BNP Paribas, Paris, said: "because luxury products represent exclusiveness and long wait, if they expand their production, their brands may not perform well.

Hermes may lack some unique characteristics. The brand is a bit like other big names. "

Despite the current global slowdown, analysts believe that the future of the luxury sector is positively related to the challenges ahead.