Hermès is a brand that never ceases to amaze us. Here are three recent events that throw some light on its approach - which is to always take the time: take the time to explain, take the time before creating an App, take the time to dream ... while combining both tradition and modernity.
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China is of course the most promising market for the brand, but many Chinese consumers need to be educated in luxury. Luxury, according to Hermès, is inseparable from the artisanal approach. The brand therefore set up a 200m2 space in the China World Mall in Beijing in March, dedicated to its craftsmen - the 'Festival of Crafts'. In each area devoted to a profession (Shirt-maker / Saddler / Tie-maker / Leather worker, etc.) an actual workspace was installed: the crowd that thronged there could see first-hand how a scarf, a saddle, or a diary is made ... Hermès thus endowed its brand with an extraordinary proximity, far removed from the clichés one hears on luxury.
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Hermes has just installed a 'Silk Bar' in New York (following those in Taipei in April, Hong Kong in July 2012, and London, at Liberty, in 2012) - a pop-up store designed like an 'American diner', with, on the menu, the scarves of the day, and an old-style photo booth where clients can photograph themselves and post them on Instagram. On the first floor, visitors can play croquet or mini-golf on Hermes bracelets, and hopscotch on Hermes ‘carrés’. Each Silk Bar is different from one city to another: in Hong Kong it was a real bar in a container (an allusion to the city's seaport). The brand presents itself as a brand that is fun, modern and creative, using its own products in unusual ways.
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The opening of the Silk Bar in New York also saw the launch of the first Hermès app, 'Silk Knots' - or learning how to tie your scarf, using videos and sketches. Although several luxury brands have launched many apps over the last two or three years, Hermès took the time needed, focusing attention on its iconic product: thus, by offering a real service to its clients the brand ensures itself of great success.
