Layout: Hermes Strengthens French Local Supply Chain And Builds Leather Workshop

French luxury giant herm è s announced on September 4 that it would build a leather workshop called maroquinerie de louviers in Normandy, France.

The workshop will create 250 jobs and is expected to be put into operation in 2022 to produce luxury goods such as handbags, as well as equestrian leather products such as saddles.

This is the second production facility built by Hermes leather and harness division in Normandy - in 2017, Hermes opened a leather workshop in Val de reuil, Normandy.

Designed by Lina ghotmeh, a French architect of Lebanon origin, the new workshop features a three story zigzag roof with a brick and wood structure to provide natural and even lighting for craftsmen. In order to protect the biodiversity of the area, most of the trees in the building site are reserved for garden and more trees are planted. Erik Dhont, a Belgian landscape architect, was also involved in the design of the project.

It will introduce and cooperate with the local training institutions of Hermes.

According to Hermes official data, in 2019, the turnover of leather products accounted for 50% of the total turnover, reaching 6.883 billion euro. Over the past decade, Hermes has been strengthening its supply chain by acquiring and building new leather workshops, opening nine new leather workshops and adding more than 2500 leather craftsmen. At present, there are more than 3800 craftsmen in the leather and harness Department of Hermes.

In addition to the Normandy leather workshop, Hermes plans to complete the construction of leather workshop in Guyenne and Montereau by the end of 2021, and to build another leather workshop in Arden Province in 2023.

At the end of July, Hermes released its latest second quarter financial report. Affected by the new crown epidemic, its sales volume fell by 24% to 1249 million euro, including 509 million euro of leather goods and harness, down 39.7% year-on-year.