French luxury conglomerate, Hermès Group, whose Berkin handbag is about as unattainable as a Patek Phillippe Nautilus with a Tiffany Blue dial, has reported total revenue up year on year by 41.8% in 2021 to €8.98 billion.
That’s not just a rise from the pandemic ravaged 2020, it is also 33.4% higher than 2019.
Further evidence, if it were needed, that the rich have sailed through two years of covid restrictions; amassing even more wealth along the way.
Consolidated net income rose even raster from €1.4 billion in 2020 to €2.45 billion in 2021.
Watches make up a fraction of Hermès Group sales — totaling €196 million in 2020 — but the group’s annual accounts say it was the fastest growing category, up by 72% to €337 million.
For the fourth quarter, alone, global turnover from timepieces was €96 million.
Asia is by far the largest market for Hermès, accounting for sales of €5.2 billion from the global total of €8.98 billion, but the Americas was fastest growing territory, rising 57% to €1.5 billion at constant currency exchange rate.
“The Watches business line (+73% and +77% over two years) confirmed its strength, which results from the exceptional watch-making expertise and the success of the new men’s watch H08 alongside other classics of the house,” Hermès says in its annual report.