A drum kit and electric guitars at Hermès International? The French luxury firm opened its annual shareholders’ meeting Thursday morning in Paris with a live performance by five-piece outfit Ishkero.

The corporate definitely rocked in 2022 and the primary quarter of 2023, with revenues vaulting 23 percent across all regions and product categories, outpacing its luxury rivals.

“We’re prone to be less festive,” chief executive officer Axel Dumas deadpanned once the jazz band had been cleared away and he took his seat behind an extended white desk with three other Hermès executives in dark suits.

The lads reviewed the corporate’s stellar financials, noting that every of its 19,700 employees received a 4,000-euro bonus for last 12 months, and that the 2022 dividend could be 13 euros, up from 8 euros in 2021.

Dumas reiterated his confidence for the 12 months ahead, emboldened by the firm’s “unique” business model and despite geopolitical turbulence and other uncertainties.

In the course of the question-and-answer period, he claimed to not bear in mind that a key luxury rival cited softness within the U.S. in the primary quarter, while Hermès roared ahead selling leather goods strongly.

“We see good momentum in China and we see good momentum within the U.S.,” he said, suggesting its strong give attention to desirable objects engenders resilience. “We usually are not the canary within the coal mine.”

He described a “long-term strategy in China” and gradual expansion into recent cities “in a stable and respectful manner. I feel this stability helps us in forging ahead. We usually are not managing the group by quarter.”

Last 12 months, openings on the mainland included Zhenzhou and Shanghai Qiantan.

Hermès ended 2022 with 300 stores, crediting its recent flagship at Madison Avenue and 63rd Street in Recent York City for enhancing its fortunes within the Americas. Dumas dubbed it a “beautiful success because the day of its opening.”

Key openings and expansions this 12 months include Chengdu and Beijing Peninsula in China; Chicago and Naples, Florida, within the U.S., and Bordeaux in France.

The majority of the meeting was dedicated to showcasing the brand’s know-how and creativity via artful and sometimes touching movies of artisans conferring over nice leathers, or disabled people being hoisted onto saddled horses to awaken recent sensations and movements.

One clip featured 4 animated Kelly handbags performing a cappella version of Rossini’s overture from “The Barber of Seville,” their leather straps flailing like limbs.

Amongst essentially the most successful leather goods creations last 12 months were the R.M.S. suitcase, the Kelly en Désordre and the Haut à Courroies Rock handbag.

Enchanted by the “mouthwatering movies,” one shareholder asked if Hermès might open any of its 54 production sites in France to visitors.

Dumas countered that “we will’t disrupt them,” calling the workshops “a production tool, not a communication tool.”

Some 76 percent of Hermès objects are manufactured in France. The corporate also has 14 production sites in Italy, Portugal, the U.K., Switzerland, the U.S. and Australia.

Dumas noted that artisans repaired 202,000 items last 12 months, underscoring that Hermès creations are meant for lifetime enjoyment.

Executives also brushed off a suggestion that Hermès split its stock in an effort to make it cheaper.

Shares now hover around 2,000 euros, a 40-fold increase because the IPO and eightfold over the past decade, they noted.