Why Hermès Makes It Tough to Find Its Products

With only about 300 stores, including a website — the only official place online to shop for its products — Hermès relies on a "very limited distribution strategy" to keep its products hot, the company's president and CEO for the Americas said Friday at the Skift Global Forum in New York City. "People want things that not a lot of people can get," Hermès' Robert Chavez told Skift President Carolyn Kremins. "That's what it is like in the luxury world. Once something becomes very saturated, that luxury customer doesn't want it anymore." Hermes has chosen not to pursue expansion strategies other luxury retailers sometimes favor, such as adding stores in secondary cities, putting boutiques in department stores, or even licensing brand names to hotels. Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts, for example, has properties in Shanghai, London, Bali and Dubai, among other places. Hermes has been approached about similar partnerships, he said. But while the hotel deals can be profitable fo