Hermès (Audio)

[@carterford6094]

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

[@jiwang441]

❤

[@jiwang441]

❤Q

[@MinhPhan-sf9hk]

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

[@shotsontaylor]

This is a fact!

[@peterkorsten]

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

[@jonnagap87]

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.

[@BayArea_650]

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

[@karenscookingkorner]

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

[@ericcartmansh]

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

[@azndreamerboy]

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

[@chad206]

You, sir, are a saint in the making.

[@jonquindiagan7625]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@Ryan.G.Spalding]

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

[@DismasM]

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.

[@Ten_2_Five]

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.

[@nitin276]

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 KZbin 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😅

[@Theboardbro]

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

[@radeque]

I came here as Marko Papic gave you a shout-out on the 10 Aug Market Huddle episode (at 59:00)

[@samyueldanyo8679]

Great chemistry and a few incredible easter eggs. Thank you. However, I feel there were a few omissions. Tell me if you agree. 1. Burkina are sometimes on display in Faubourg. 2. Discussion on discontinuation of leather apple watch straps on Apple’s side. 3. The 9% France sales is not really France - if you go in the Faubourg you would barely see any French customers there. 4. I suspect the yearly hikes is less than 7% and actually probably close to inflation. Hermes have talked about a strategy of scaling production as well as providing broader range until a certain volume and then they could, if needed, hike more.

[@cap4life1]

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

[@purushottam.investation]

I want to keep you guys a secret. But I just can't. Great work. Thank you for doing what you do.

[@maximusmiles2615]

Fantastic podcast thank you for the service

[@DR......]

Is the LVMH video not on KZbin?

[@JaydonTobler]

Hey guys, quick thing: Veblen Goods aren’t a real thing. It’s not about desirability; it’s about actual economic transactions that take place. A Veblen Good would be giving someone the option to buy one of two identical handbags, but priced differently arbitrarily and them purchasing the more expensive one simply because it’s more expensive. Imagine a sales associate puts two identical bags and says “this one is priced at $12,000 and this one is priced at $20.” If these were Veblen goods, then you would actually buy the $12,000 bag precisely because it was more expensive. What’s really happening is that branding/quality/signaling make goods more inelastic (steeper demand curve), but the curve never actually flips to be upward sloping. In fact, my Econometrics professor even said that the simplest way to win the Nobel Prize in economics is to find any good that violates the law of demand because no one has ever found one.

[@vandeveerharpold]

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

[@BirdieChefArtiste]

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.

[@account-yi2cn]

4 hours without getting boring

[@thewarkitchen]

This is absolute gold.

[@Ryanrobi]

If you're into animal welfare and you should love large scale modern farming.. I don't know where or how modern farming in animal husbandry is or could be considered worse than nature for animals. In nature it's absolutely brutal a huge percentage of a similar species to cattle which would be deer get eaten alive every year or die slow painful deaths due to starvation or disease all of which can be avoided if they're on a farm. This is like analogous to saying how evil it is to raise your kids in your home and bring them to the doctor and send them to school because we're not in nature the way we were a thousand years ago it's just an idiotic argument. Animals love being in Barns and protected and fed. I am a dairy farmer when we open up the barn in the summer so the cows can go out the pasture they go and run around for a little bit and then they get bored and come back in the barn to stay cool dry and heat and drink. 99.9% of cows that get out run around for a couple hours and then come back into the barn on their own because it's where they want to be. Just like how us humans who love to be in nature go hiking we also love to go to restaurant eat after and come back and sleep in our house and use modern medicine if we're ill.

[@sydneyshields111]

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

[@FriscoGaubeca]

Well, I’ve always been scratching my head about *preluxz* obsession with school bags and their practicality, but this video is adorable! Congratulations.

[@aminbusiness3139]

Could you do an episode on Tiger Global & Chase Coleman III 😸

[@Oxilorix]

Please do Hasselblad

[@shotsontaylor]

This is a great episode if you are remotely in luxury brands

[@abdullahbilwani]

Please do video on zara

[@ishansengar5920]

First 🥇 Love your videos

[@drdremd]

Among your finest. All hail the algorithm.

[@THop2323]

Many orphans and illegitimate children seem to be driven to achieve prestige and acclaim to almost as a vendetta to make a name for themselves despite being “rejected” by their families.

[@OvidiuCosmin12]

Very very interesting. But why do you have to go over and over the same facts again and again?

[@stirlingramsay]

Hermes? Like the rapper?

[@guillermojperea6355]

Ridiculously long, unwieldy. In these cases, at least include timestamps.

[@RanDom-Interloper]

I guess this was recorded before the Class Action lawsuit against Hermes for violating antitrust laws forcing customers to spend money on items they don't want, tens of thousands of dollars usually, in order to be favored with the opportunity to purchase a Birkin bag. In most cases, they don't get to choose the exact bag they want but only to take it or leave it from whatever is made available by their sales associate at that time. It's a coercive sales tactic to sell other products and btw, the sales associates DO NOT get paid a commission on selling a Birkin, but they do on all the other less popular items. So unlike Chanel which raises prices for the actual desired product, Hermes makes people buy things they don't want and say they don't charge extra for the Birkin. And the secondary market benefits because when people finally get a chance to buy a Birkin, it isn't the exact color or leather they want, so they end up selling it anyway. Personally a customer who can and is willing to pay extra and wait for the exact bag they want should be given a guaranteed opportunity even if it raises the price from say $12,000 to $30,000 instead of paying the difference in some unwanted items and a Birkin they don't want, just to buy one.

[@THop2323]

Easy fix here: If you don’t care for the way they do business don’t buy their products.

[@danaildanailov3847]

Saying that art has zero utility is the most idiotic thing I heard this decade, easily.

[@THop2323]

What’s the utility of “art” Dan?

[@danaildanailov3847]

@@THop2323 to elevate us.

[@LeonardoMallard]

Thank you dear for taking us along. Can't wait what the @ *LUYBAG* queen picked up at Fendi

[@LemkauWedgewood]

#uzbagx

[@DulcieGraham]

@ *lvguci* Every time I see this bag I can't help but stop here.