Luxury Brand Hermès 2nd Quarter Sales up 12%

From the Wall Street Journal:

Bucking the trend of the luxury industry at large, Hermès, manufacturer of silk scarves and leather handbags, has actually posted a 12% increase in sales in 2Q ending June 30th over the same quarter in 2008.  Hermès advised that they are on track to reach their target of flat sales growth for 2009.

In a very telling quote, CEO Patrick Thomas says, “If you had told me last year that we would have flat sales in 2009, I would have kissed you on both cheeks.”

And with that, I think the current feel of optimism in the capital markets is explained.  The bar was set so unrealistically low for corporate profits after the crash of Q4 2008 and Q1 2009, that any growth — even just staying flat — is considered a great victory.