Why Hermès Is SIX Generations Strong

At the height of his career, Steve Jobs proclaimed that the hardest work in business is creating something that will stand a generation or two from now.

Hermès has been standing behind its craftsmanship for six generations (that’s nearly 200 years!)

Thierry Hermès started selling bespoke harnesses in 1837.

Fast forward nearly 200 years and the company is an international luxury empire valued at over $200BN.

Pierre-Alexis Dumas (6th generation steward) recently did an exclusive interview with 60 minutes. CLICK HERE to watch.

Hermès has been building for centuries. In the interview, Dumas touched on the three pillars of climbing this long-term mountain:

-            Compounding.

-            Humanity.

-            Stewardship.

Hermès has been COMPOUNDING their craft decade after decade. The brand promise has been consistently upheld and rooted in integrity that the $200BN enterprise operates without a marketing department.  Dumas explains:

“Hermès is very costly… not expensive. The cost is the actual price to make something of quality. Expensive is not delivering what you are expecting.”

The interviewer, Sharyn Alfonsi, asked Dumas how they’ve remained consistent with their values despite all the growth. Dumas immediately went to the importance of HUMANITY:

“How can you grow without changing what makes you strong? …By training people…Create a life profession.”

Generation by generation, Hermes continues to build a home where people can flourish.

Alfonsi pressed Dumas on the speculations surrounding Hermès creating artificial scarcity. In response, Dumas demonstrated exceptional STEWARDSHIP of the brand, calmly and eloquently explaining the true spirit of Hermès:

“Building something timeless takes time… speed is the structuring value of the 20th century… you cannot compress time without compromising on quality.”

Dumas was and is protecting the vision of his great-great-great grandfather, Thierry Hermès.

Hermès is allowing time to be its greatest asset by COMPOUNDING quality over centuries. Hermès invests heavily in HUMANITY by training people properly for their respective craft.

The Hermès family understands the spirit of the organization and protects the spirit with STEWARDSHIP.

Hermès is one of those special companies that has the long-term view in mind. They put the art at the forefront of their work. Hermès is a cathedral building.

Onward,

Matt