Hermès (Audio)

I’m here to turn the Acquired youtube comment section around! Ben and David, you are true business historians and are providing a valuable service to the WORLD, thank you for this episode and the countless others that I have learned from

Acquired FM is kinda the Hermes of podcast, such an insane level of dedication to the storytelling craft.

Just absolutely totally amazing storytelling. You folks have redefined what great podcasts sound like. Depth, warmth, breadth, humor, connections: WOW! Thank you!

Listened to the entire vid from start to finish, absolute gold! Thanks for all of the research that went into this one

My new absolute fav podcast! Seriously thank you for the hard work put into every video you do! Outstanding job

Guys you really need to have timestamps! Absolutely love the content and the research work put in. There is no way the avg listener is going to listen to 4 hours on one company (even one as interesting as Hermes) without jumping around chapters.

instant listen. This was spectacular! How far the show has come

1:20 reject manu efficiencies and scale, dedicated to craft, remained independent vs other luxury brand mergers 5:00 still do 85% production by hand in france 6:28 french revolution 7:50 Hermes and LVMH founders came from nothing 8:55 apprenticeship for outfitting horse (car equivalent) 10:14 elite ride horses like they do ferraris today - occasional 11:05 another coup in France under N III - modernize city - in old streets, can’t see nobility often - now you can with new venues, elevating importance of showing off status; status no longer about what class born into - modern idea can allow class shifts 14:44 key anchor client: wide of napoleon for carriages and luggage (LV) 15:55 key strength in routing brand in history and horse / carriage era 16:40 family apprenticeship through generations - made items with hands - diffs from LVMH 18:35 key differences vs LVMH: world class execs paired with world class designers; at H these are one and the same; apprentice as creative craftspeople 19:35 late 1800’s, added saddles - can now be seen in public 22:00 lands tsar of Russia as customer 22:54 add high belted bag to carry saddle and boots - looks like berkin and kelly but bigger - heritage of bags today 25:23 chase payment business 28:50 transition to auto age; met Ford, realizes importance of car 32:00 gets exclusive license for zipper makes first zipper products 34:45 bags for autos 35:22 impact of global travel in 1920’s - showing products 36:40 product is differentiator not brand 36:45 launch of handbag and clothes 37:45 adding by finding expert craftsmen (not organic) / brands and retailing / opening stores 39:00 stores not in metro cities but travel destinations with repeat clientele 40:00 different today, new stores to serve local clientele; new upper class client potential 41:11 key themes: craftsmanship, family and owners are chief artisans, connection to french status and new class mobility, modernization in auto era 41:50 importance of whimsical and art; warmth, soft welcoming in stores vs. other luxury stores 44:11 next gen thru son in law 44:36 playfulness of brand, bag redesign and bracelet intro 46:00 16 divisions 46:45 don’t push brand during sales - no bright color or iconic logo; quiet luxury and highest quality product made by single artisan; differs from other luxury and luxury today 47:50 today, adapted to market but still on lighter end of branding; consumers want to indicate hermes 48:45 silk scarves 1937; finest silks in world; whimsical design 49:48 biz mix 1937-1988 vs today - silk scarf run up to decline 50:49 queen elizabeth scarves 51:12 scarf production - source finest silk from owned farms in BR, 20 new designs per year and retire old to vault, 2 years to produce, screenprint each by hand (not digital) for each color, precision is perfect - no layer can be out of alignment, designs handetched; designer, engraved, colorist, weaver, printing and finishing - very hard to replicate, non transferable skill (no large scale at other companies); specialize in one small special piece of production 54:39 callbacks to history 55:10 new products during great depression - clients are unaffected - true today; recession resilient whereas LVMH taking a hit 56:20 origin of hermes orange box during WWII; hermes claims they own color - non-pantone code color; then created 5-6 other oranges for trends, whimsy nature 59:00 son in law adds silk ties; patterns less intricate and storied than scarves, but also hand screenprinted 59:52 added logo after WWII - callback to carriage and mobility; ground brand in history and differentiates from other brands

My first podcast was the LVMH episode which I immediately followed with this one. You guys did an outstanding job on both. Well researched and informative and at the same time very entertaining. An interesting angle on the LVMH story involved the role of hedge funds and prop desks in the Gucci deal. Although the arbs did not "control" Gucci stock leading up to the close of the deal, they did hold a very significant percentage of the free float. Every time Gucci had numbers the earnings call had more hedge fund arbs on it than any other investor class and both Domenico and Tom did an excellent job of "managing" their relationship with the arbs as they knew that their interests were completely aligned (i.e. making sure Pinault would close). If Arnault had succeeded a lot of hedge funds and prop desks would have taken a big hit. There was also a lot of arb interest in Hermes while Arnault was making his moves but not to the same extent as in Gucci as an actual offer had never been made by LVMH. Keep up the great work. Would really enjoy an episode on Rolex.

This was my first episode and I have these comments. Great job on covering the history. In my opinion, Hermès and LV are not the same. Hermès is discreet, classic, understated elegance, and beautifully made bags, etc. The craftsmanship is excellent whereas LV is not as nicely made and is made in 1 of I believe 4 countries including US. LV is everywhere and screams a brand name. Who wants to advertise for a brand? Pas moi. My bags were curated from a US boutique and are not the Kelly or Birkin .. better to be discreet. In the 90s Hermès scarves were available at Neiman Marcus. Thank you.

Why you all release when I’m supposed to go to bed?! Bookmarked for tomorrow. 👍🏼

Outstanding episode. As much as I enjoy the tech and VC stuff, these luxury episodes really resonate. Great to hear the shout outs to Derek and Reginald (worlds collide.) Was sad to hear David and Ben figured 95% of listeners might not know who Jane Birkin was. (and @3:48:40 --- she passed away in July of last year so she's pretty much cool with everything now....) Just a quibble, guys. Please keep up the good work.

This podcast is so important to my education. Appreciate the brand diversity

This was such a great episode on so many levels. It was so interesting to learn about their business model and history!👏👏

Thank you for sharing this!

I came across this channel about 2 months ago and only through this episode did I learn that you guys put out just one episode every month. On one hand I am happy that I didn’t find this channel earlier and now I can binge all that I want 😊 On the other hand, I feel that after I am done with all episodes, I might have to stalk Ben and David, NSA style to figure out when the next episode will be coming out😂 Jk….i love you guys! I came across your channel 3 months after I had been obsessed on researching the Blackbird and YouTube recommended your Lockheed episode! As a former Amazonian, I listened to your amazon episodeS TWICE! Keep up the great work. If Hermes were a podcast company then you would be the top métier😅

This is absolute gold.

I love this podcast! This one, the LV one and Costco were my faves.

Fantastic podcast thank you for the service

I don’t miss a day a week :yt: kkuwan:yt: This show..😂😂😂😂