Wall Street Location Boosts Global Hermes Sales

Hermès, the French luxury brand that birthed the Birkin bag and all sorts of other status symbols, announced that global sales rose 13.4 percent to 415.1 million euros—that’s $642.9 million now, ouch!—year-over-year in the first three months of 2008.

Surprisingly, gains were felt on both sides of the Atlantic, with U.S. sales rising 23 percent annually in the first quarter. Even more suprising is that the banner performance of Hermès’ Wall Street branch drove up the numbers, WWD reports.

There must be quite a few ladies out there who got a new Kelly bag at bonus time because leather handbag sales jumped 25 percent.

Among the 20 new international Hermès stores planned for 2008 are two new U.S. branches, further evidence that luxury brands are flying in the face of the prevailing economic winds.