Axel Dumas, CEO of Hermès: “Switzerland and Geneva, where we are inaugurating our renovated store, are a haven of stability—a rare asset these days”

“Geneva lies on the shores of this magnificent lake, to which we wanted to pay homage by drawing inspiration from the light it reflects throughout the day,” explains Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Hermès’s General Artistic Director. “On each floor of the store, a different color palette evokes its shimmering beauty.” We’ve adorned the walls with paintings and photographs from the Émile Hermès collection. In a small room within the store, we’ve hung a magnificent 18th-century painting of Geneva. This canvas, which we’ve never before displayed, has found its ideal home here, and I’m delighted about that. Other works from the 19th and 20th centuries echo it, as do photographs by Swiss artists from our dedicated collection. Wherever we set up shop, we seek to establish a dialogue with the location. We are happy and eager to introduce this store to the locals: for us, it is a true declaration of love for Geneva.”

The brand maintains special ties with Geneva, where it opened its first location outside of France. Axel Dumas, CEO of Hermès, explains: “The second store we opened after Paris was in Geneva, in 1947. We’ve been here for 80 years. We practically feel at home here.” For decades, the brand has built a close relationship with its clientele there, which today can make all the difference in an unstable economic climate that is affecting tourist traffic in major cities. “The renovated store we’re inaugurating today in Geneva ranks among our five largest flagship stores in Europe,” continues Axel Dumas, speaking off the record during the opening ceremony. “I’d like to highlight the success of Hermès Switzerland in recent years. We’ve seen very strong growth in our local clientele and among year-round residents. In this regard, Geneva has a certain appeal, even though it hasn’t been spared the decline in tourist traffic. Switzerland and Geneva represent an island of stability—a precious asset that has become rare today, while other regions of the world are less stable.”

In 2011, the Geneva store moved into the current listed modernist building, designed by Swiss architect Marc-Joseph Saugey and now owned by the Hermès Group. Now expanded, it totals 2,200 square meters, including 890 square meters of retail space (a 70% increase). Numerous challenges marked the renovations and expansions led by the Parisian architecture firm RDAI. Denis Montel, one of the two architects present at the grand opening, comments: “It was a delicate restoration that required extensive discussions with the authorities. Highly technical solutions were implemented to preserve the building’s volumes and ceiling heights. The majestic entrance, the staircase, the bronze sculptures, and the architectural coherence of the entire structure have been brought to the fore. It is a piece of history that we have sought to highlight.”

For the occasion, and to pay tribute to this special relationship with Geneva, the brand sought to create several highly exclusive collections: an Arceau watch enhanced by a design by Jean-Louis Clerc; leather goods, including a Bolide cargo bag for both women and men; as well as a saddle, a suitcase, and an address tag. While many Hermès stores around the world are organized by product category, the new Geneva store is organized by theme, with accessories, beauty, and home goods on the ground floor. The first floor is dedicated to men’s collections, the second floor features leather goods, jewelry, and watches, and the third floor showcases women’s collections.

In the third quarter of 2026, Hermès outperformed most of the luxury sector, with revenue up 4.3% at constant exchange rates, to 4.10 billion euros. This growth was driven by leather goods and strong demand in the Americas and Japan, though it was slowed by the watch and ready-to-wear segments.

“We must remain resilient, and it is in this spirit that I try to manage the group,” continues Axel Dumas. For the past twenty years, crises have occurred roughly every two years. They have become unpredictable and inevitable, as Patrick Boucheron, a historian at the Collège de France and a leading specialist on the Middle Ages, puts it. The challenge, therefore, is to build a model that is inherently resilient, since we cannot anticipate where the next crisis will arise. This requires financial prudence and geographic diversification. The highly artisanal nature of our products and our expertise protect us. In the face of market volatility, we prioritize operational excellence while maintaining our agility. We released our figures at the end of September, which show growth of about 6 percent: so we are not facing a crisis. I remember years when a 3% increase was considered excellent. This year, unlike others, we’ve managed to maintain our profitability and move forward. I’m very proud of our teams. Of course, France is going through a difficult period, and on the stock market, luxury stocks are generally performing worse than those in artificial intelligence. But these are the vagaries of the stock market. Our vision remains long-term. It is one of our core principles, just like strong cash flow generation, customer satisfaction, and maintaining quality.”

That said, certain segments are slowing down, even at Hermès. Watchmaking remains a complex business for the brand, requiring a level of expertise from its sales force that is more difficult to manage. “While the aspirational clientele—generally drawn to jewelry accessories and belts—is now harder to attract across the entire luxury sector, high-value business lines such as leather goods, jewelry, and ready-to-wear are performing very well,” concludes Axel Dumas. “Watchmaking has experienced strong growth but has been facing certain challenges for some time now. We have a strong heritage in watchmaking, our own manufacturing facilities, as well as a spirit and style that set us apart. One of the house’s strengths is its creative abundance. The question, then, is how to nurture this creative freedom within a more standardized watchmaking industry.”