Birkin bags help Hermes luxury sales surge to €1.25bn

Hermes International solidified its status as the luxury industry’s go-to label, proving that customers are willing to ignore growing economic uncertainty and spend thousands of dollars on must-have leather handbags.

Sales rose 8.1% excluding currency shifts, Paris-based Hermes has said, which compares with analysts’ expectations for growth of 5.6%.

The first-half operating margin widened about 1 percentage point, helped by hedging on foreign exchange rates. The stock gained as much as 3.8%.