Hermès Bags Nearly $5 Billion in Q1 2025 Revenue as LVMH Struggles in Luxury Retail Market

In a crowded luxury retail market, established brands often find themselves navigating trends and hoping to achieve segment supremacy. That strategy appears to be paying off for French luxury fashion house Hermès, according to an April 17 press release.

Hermès saw revenue growth in all international markets — Asia, excluding Japan, saw more modest growth of 1% given headwinds in the Greater China market; Japan saw a significant uptick in revenue amounting to 17%; Europe, excluding France, trended upward by 13%, while France itself notched 14% growth; the Americas came in at 11%; and all other regions, largely involving business in the Middle East, saw revenues rise by 14%.

The brand’s iconic Birkin & Kelly bags seemed to be driving increased revenue, with leather goods and saddlery ticking upward by 10%, while Hermès’ ready-to-wear category saw a rise of 7.2% in terms of revenue growth. Silk and textiles were up 4.5%, and “other sectors” — largely comprised of jewelry and Hermès home products — rose by 6.1%. Only the brand’s watch segment (down 10%) and beauty segment (down 0.5%) showed any sign of weakness.

“In a complex geopolitical and economic context, the house is strengthening its fundamentals more than ever: uncompromising quality, creativity at the heart of all development, and vertical integration, a guarantee of preserving unique savoir-faire. Despite a high comparison basis in the first quarter, the group achieved solid growth in sales, thanks to the trust of its customers and the commitment of the teams, whom I thank warmly,” Axel Dumas, Hermès executive chairman, stated.

As Hermès Shows Strength, LVMH Sees Loss of Revenue

The results come in direct contrast to those exhibited by competitor LVMH, a brand responsible for the iconic Louis Vuitton label and owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault. While Hermès saw notable and significant growth, LVMH posted a recent revenue loss of 3% — far less than the Wall Street expectations of 2% growth, per an April 15 Forbes report.

Much of the downturn, which briefly saw Hermès top LVMH as the most valuable luxury brand in the world, was attributed to a $400 million loss (to $11.4 billion) in its fashion and leather goods segment, which tumbled by 5%. Notably, LVMH’s wine and spirits segment declined by 9% to $1.5 billion, largely attributed to ongoing tariff concerns as well as lowered cognac demand stateside and in China.