The expanded facility will produce handbags in the Birkin and the Kelly Danse styles, as well as small leather goods including wallets from its Bearn and To Go lines. This follows the opening of a factories in Louviers, focused on the Kelly bag, and Tournes earlier this year.
A new 50,600 sq ft building will open next to the location of the company’s current facility in the New Aquitane region, which was built just six years ago. The new factory will eventually house 250 artisans, the majority being 210 leather artisans with the addition of 40 glove makers.
The facility repurposes an abandoned wool workshop building and was designed by the Bruhat & Bouchaudy architecture firm to adhere to bioclimatic properties using some of the original stone walls and additional stones sourced from old buildings on the site. Other exteriors were constructed of granite from a nearby quarry. The facility is the third in the southwest area of France.
Hermès reported a 23% increase in sales at constant exchange in the first quarter of 2023. It also opened new stores in Naples, Florida, and Nanjing, China, in the quarter, highlighting the company’s continued growth.
Since 2010, Hermès has opened 11 facilities in France, bringing the number of artisans to more than 4,700. Four additional facilities are under construction in Riom, Isle Espagnac, Loupes and Charleville-Mézières.
