'Scarcity is not a goal for us': Hermes executive VP Guillaume de Seynes on secrets to the maison's success

Guillaume de Seynes and I sit on a train speeding its way back towards Paris. De Seynes has just cut the ribbon at the opening of his family-owned company Hermes’s 24th artisanal workshop in France.

“We are sustainable by essence,” he explains. “My grandfather, Robert Dumas, was once asked for his definition of luxury. And he said a luxury object is one that you can repair. It says everything.”

The new leather workshop in L’Isle-d’Espagnac in south-west France, has been built to sustainability gold standards. On the site of a former airfield, the 5,800-square-metre building was designed by Bordeaux firm Guiraud-Manenc using largely local materials: Charente stone cladding, poplar and red cedar framing, earth and straw insulation. A planted roof and 1,800 square metres of solar panels top it off.

The Hermes workshop at L’Isle-d’Espagnac is an open-plan, light-filled spaces where artisans craft each bag from start to finish. Photo: Hermes

It signals Hermes's commitment to Made in France and will eventually house 260 artisans producing small leather goods, as well as Birkin and Kelly bags. “We’ve now reached a more industrial size, with more than 7,000 people involved in making leather goods,” says de Seynes.

Yet, scale hasn’t changed the maison’s backbone: savoir-faire. “We keep the artisanal ways of making things. We stick to the size of the workshops, and don’t go over 300 people, because beyond that it’s not the same family spirit.”

Today’s workshops are open-plan, light-filled spaces where mostly women craft each bag from start to finish. “One man, one bag. It’s now more one woman, one bag, but when I was a child, it was only men.”

The new workshop is staffed primarily by women. Photo: Hermes

Despite the modern aspect of the facility, de Seynes resists any innovation in the production process. “We still believe each piece is made by one person, because this is where the artisanal aspect resides. If not, people would be doing handles or finishing edges all day long. We have decided once and forever we won’t go in that direction.”

That decision lengthens the infamous waiting lists, but also preserves desirability. “Scarcity is not a policy or goal for us. It’s a result of being dedicated to maintaining the highest level of quality.