Hermès continues to invest in its production capacity and announces the creation of two leather goods workshop (France, Charente and Gironde) with 500 jobs, by 2026
PRESS RELEASE
Paris, March 15, 2022
HERMÈS CONTINUES TO INVEST IN ITS PRODUCTION CAPACITY AND
ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF TWO LEATHER GOODS WORKSHOP
(FRANCE, CHARENTE AND GIRONDE) WITH 500 JOBS, BY 2026.
To support the success of the leather goods and saddlery collections, Hermès confirms its ambition to grow and continue the development of its production capacity with the construction of two new leather goods workshops – one scheduled to open in 2025 and the other in 2026. In time, 500 craftsmen and women will practice their know-how of excellence in the future workshops located in Charente, in the municipality of L’Isle-d’Espagnac, and in Gironde, in the municipality of Loupes.
These two new projects are in addition to the three other sites under construction in Louviers (Eure), in Tournes and Cliron (Ardennes), and in Riom (Puy-de-Dôme), for which recruitment and training are ongoing.
Hermès reaffirms its regional anchor
The Maroquinerie de L’Isle-d’Espagnac joins the hub of Maroquineries du Sud-Ouest along with the ones in Nontron and Montbron and the Ganterie-Maroquinerie of Saint-Junien, established on this region for over 25 years. The Maroquinerie de L’Isle-d’Espagnac will be inaugurated in 2025.
With the Maroquinerie de Guyenne, the new manufacture in Loupes will form the Gironde hub of Hermès, which will become the eight leather goods hub of the group and ultimately employing more than 500 craftsmen. This new site will be inaugurated in 2026.
Strongly committed to building long-term relationships with its local partners, Hermès prepares its implementation in L’Isle-d’Espagnac by working in cooperation with the agency of development and innovation’s contest of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and the Communauté d’Agglomération Grand Angoulême. For the development of its new sites, the House relies on its partnerships with the French employment agency (Pôle Emploi), the Board of Education of Poitiers, the Greta adult education service of Poitou-Charentes Agence d’Angoulême and the Greta CFA of Aquitaine.
Hermès confirms its commitment to education and apprenticeship
In a spirit of companionship which values the transmission of know-how and the artisanal culture, the site in L’Isle-d’Espagnac will rely on the expertise of the craftsmen and women from the Maroquinerie of Nontron, of Montbron and of the Ganterie-Maroquinerie of Saint-Junien.
The site in Loupes will benefit from the proximity with the expert artisans of the Maroquinerie de Guyenne, established in the Gironde territory since 2020.
L’École Hermès des savoir-faire – Hermès’ apprenticeship training centre accredited by French National Education authority, will expand to Montbron in September 2022, and to the Maroquinerie de Guyenne, early 2023. L’École trains its apprentices for a durable métier founded on the House’s leather goods know-how of excellence.
Since 2010, Hermès has opened nine leather workshops in France, bringing the number of saddler-leatherworkers employed by the group to more than 4,300.
Both of the new workshops located in L’Isle-d’Espagnac and in Loupes will become the 23rd and 24th production sites of Hermès Leather Goods & Saddlery division, all located in France.
Since 1837, Hermès has remained faithful to its artisan model and its humanist values. The freedom to create, the spirit of innovation, the constant search for beautiful materials, the transmission of savoir-faire of excellence, and the aesthetic of
functionality all forge the singularity of Hermès, a house of objects created to last. An independent, family-owned company which encompasses 16 métiers, Hermès is dedicated to keeping the majority of its production in France through its 52 workshops and production sites and to developing its network more than 300 stores in 45 countries. The group employs almost 17,600 people worldwide, including nearly 11,000 in France, among whom nearly 6,000 are craftsmen*. Axel Du-mas, a sixth-generation family member, has been Hermès CEO since 2013.
Founded in 2008, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès supports projects in the areas of artistic creation, training and the transmission of savoir-faire, biodiversity, and the preservation of the environment.
* As of 31 December 2021
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