Hermès to hike U.S. prices for iconic bags and scarves in response to ***** tariffs
Published Thu, Apr 17 20255:56 AM EDT Updated 4 Hours Ago
Jenni Reid
- U.S. prices of Hermèsâ luxury bags, scarves and other goods are set to rise from May 1.
- The company told an analyst call on Thursday it would look to âfully offsetâ the impact of U.S. President Donald *****âs universal 10% tariffs â not yet covering the potential 20% tariffs that the European Union faces.
- Hermès earlier this week overtook French rival LVMH as the worldâs biggest luxury firm by market capitalization.
A guest wears white shirt, brown pants, brown suede jacket and brown Hermes bag with a green and white silk neck scarf outside the Hermes fashion show during the Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025/2026 as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 08, 2025 in Paris, France.
Raimonda Kulikauskiene | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
French luxury group
Hermès will raise its U.S. prices from the start of May in order to offset the impact of President Donald *****âs tariffs, the companyâs finance chief said Thursday.
The company â which earlier this week overtook rival
LVMH as the worldâs biggest luxury firm by market capitalization â is best-known for its Birkin and Kelly handbags, along with colorful scarves retailing for hundreds of dollars. Other products include jewelry, watches, shoes, perfume and make-up.
âThe price increase that weâre going to implement will be just for the U.S. since itâs aimed at offsetting the tariffs that only apply to the American market, so there wonât be price increases in the other regions,â Eric du HalgouĂŤt, Hermèsâ executive vice president for finance, said during an analyst call that followed the firmâs first-quarter results release on Thursday.
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Hermès said prices will rise from May 1 and aim to âfully offsetâ the impact of the
universal 10% tariff imposed by the White House in early April, rather than the 20% duties the European Union may face unless it can
negotiate a new deal during *****âs 90-day reprieve.
U.S. consumers are expected to contend with higher prices on a host of items, ranging from
electronics and
clothes to
cars and
houses, as the impact of tariffs bites.
In its
first-quarter results, Hermès reported 11% sales growth in the Americas, which accounted for nearly 17% of its sales revenue in the first three months of the year.
First-quarter revenue growth came in at 7% on a constant currency basis overall, just shy of consensus expectations of an 8% to 9% increase, Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. It also represented a slowdown from
17.6% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Deutsche Bank analysts said that the results were nonetheless ârobust,â with weakness driven by watches and perfume sales, while Citi described them as âa respectable outcome.â
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Hermès shares dipped 1.3% in Thursday morning deals, taking its value to 244.5 billion euros ($278.2 billion) â just shy of LVMHâs 245.7 billion euros â according to a CNBC calculation of LSEG data.
LVMH, controlled by Franceâs billionaire Arnault family,
unsuccesfully tried to acquire Hermès a decade ago. Despite drawing level in market cap, Hermèsâ annual revenue is less than a fifth that of sprawling LVMH, which owns luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Dior, alcohol business MoĂŤt Hennessy, U.S. jeweler Tiffany and beauty chain Sephora.
LVMH on Tuesday
reported an unexpected decline in first quarter sales, flagging a fall in its dominant fashion and leather goods division.
Analysts have
predicted the luxury sector will be less impacted by tariffs than other retailers due to their ability to pass on increased import costs to a high-spending clientele. However, they would encounter major headwinds from a broad pullback in consumer spending as a result of weaker global economic growth or recessionary fears.
