PARIS — Hermès cut the equine-embossed ribbon on its newest leather goods factory on Friday, just days after its market cap soared past the 200 billion-euro mark.

“We’ve had good results this 12 months,” chief executive officer Axel Dumas acknowledged throughout the symbolic cutting ceremony, barely underplaying the stellar sales numbers. “This development allows us to open one other leather workshop to create local jobs that export goods to the 4 corners of the world.”

The in-demand Kelly model will likely be the main target of its production, in addition to being the one workshop outside of Paris that produces saddles. The brand new facility in Louviers, Normandy, sits two hours outside of the French capital.

Executive vice chairman, manufacturing division and equity investments Guillaume de Seynes said the production of the favored Kelly depends upon several aspects and couldn’t quantify what number of bags the Louviers facility will add to the tight supply.

“We never take into consideration additional quantity, we predict concerning the additional variety of hours after which after all these hours might be used on five different models,” he told WWD. Each bag takes between 15 and 18 hours to make. All artisans first train on the Kelly model, because it brings together several complex processes, and might go on to focus on other bags.

Because the “quiet luxury” craze gets buzzier, Hermès continues to give attention to its craftsmanship. The strategy of constructing a handbag is identical because it was 50 years ago, he said, limiting production to 2 or three bags per employee per week. It’s the alternative of fast fashion since a customer can have to attend months for a bag.

The corporate has been accused of artificially restricting supply, particularly on its hottest models, which Dumas denied when during a call with analysts in February. “We are attempting to provide as many as we are able to,” he said on the time.

De Seynes added that they’re hiring a whole lot of individuals per 12 months, but that it takes 18 months of coaching before an artisan hits the factory floor. “We are attempting to extend the production, but we wish to take care of the approach to quality that’s for us absolutely essential,” he said. There are around 4,700 artisans in leather goods production at various facilities in France, he added.

While other luxury goods firms have acknowledged issues with recruiting and hiring enough staff to meet demand, De Seynes said Hermès’ combination of coaching, education and commitment to hiring from all age ranges somewhat insulates them from hiring issues. Nevertheless he acknowledged that “in some activities — not leather — we actually need to persuade people who we might be attractive.”

At Louviers, the brand new facility will employ 260 artisans in its airy 66,700-square-foot facility.

Designed by French Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh, the factory sits as a series of arches and wide windows to herald light. The space is anchored by artwork from sculptor Emmanuel Saulnier. His structure of intertwined steel beams is supposed to invoke sewing needles, a nod to craft. (The unique iteration made out of glass shattered upon installation, depicted in a brief film concerning the construction shown throughout the opening.)

Inside, artisans were readily available to point out off their skills in cutting, sewing and ending the baggage, while rows of Kellys sat at a top quality control station able to be examined.

The factory sits on 4 hectares previously occupied by Philips, which had remained a brown site slated for environmental cleanup before it could possibly be repurposed.

The brand new factory was constructed of 500,000 locally made bricks, and uses geothermal energy. Additionally it is topped with 25,000 square feet of solar panels. The corporate says it’s “energy-positive,” meaning it puts more kilowatts back into the ability grid than it uses.

The Louviers facility was built to be carbon-neutral, while the corporate can be working to decarbonize its existing plants by moving to wood or natural gas, said Olivier Fournier, executive vice chairman, corporate development and social affairs.

Fournier told WWD that the corporate is starting out with a lower carbon footprint than the opposite luxury groups as a consequence of its craftsmanship model. Hermès produces 78 percent of its products in France, and 65 percent are in made inside their very own workshops. Most other facilities are in close countries, with watches in Switzerland, for instance.

“This provides us superb traceability because now we have strong vertical integration regarding raw materials,” Fournier told WWD. Again, most are sourced from France, with some coming from nearby nations, reminiscent of the Netherlands. They keep tight reigns on their supply chain. “It’s not an issue of quantities, it’s an issue of quality,” he said.

Though the country produces the vast majority of its goods in France, it shouldn’t be untouched by global supply chain problems, de Seynes said. “Within the case of silk, for instance, the turmoil of the war and inflation, the timeframe for investing in latest capacities has been prolonged,” he said.

The corporate is ending an extension of its silk facility in Lyon, which is now slated for opening in July. Additionally it is expanding watchmaking capability in Switzerland, while continuing to speculate in tanneries and increase leather goods production. “We’re taking a look at the technique of increasing future capacities in every field — which is a very good problem, but it surely is an issue,” De Seynes said of demand continuing to outpace supply.

“2022 was above all expectations,” he added. “There was growth in every division, so we’d like to to speculate in every activity and check out to extend capability.”

Increasing enamel can be within the cards. The tableware division “is doing extremely well, so we’d like to extend the facilities and put money into that activity,” he said. To that end, they’re modernizing an existing site, the placement of which has not been announced.

There are 4 other leather factories within the works, with two expected to open later this 12 months and two additional facilities rolling out over the following two years.