Paris, 5th April 2024

HERMÈS CONTINUES TO INVEST IN EMPLOYMENT AND PRODUCTION

CAPACITY WITH THE LAYING OF THE FIRST STONE FOR THE MAROQUINERIE

DE L'ISLE-D'ESPAGNAC LEATHER GOODS WORKSHOP IN CHARENTE

Located in the town of L'Isle-d'Espagnac, this new manufacture - Hermès' twenty-fourth leather goods workshop in France - will open in 2025, ultimately employing 260 artisans trained in the house's exceptional know-how.

The L'Isle-d'Espagnac workshop will join the South-West hub, which currently includes the Maroquinerie de Montbron (opened in 2015) as well the Maroquinerie de Nontron leather goods workshops, and the Ganterie Maroquinerie de Saint-Junien glove and leather goods workshop, which have been operating in the region for over 25 years. With this new site, Hermès is reaffirming its regional integration and its confidence in the development of its artisanal know-how in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Hermès will be recruiting from the École Hermès des savoir-faire, an apprenticeship training centre accredited by the French Ministry of Education, that opened in September 2022 in Marthon in the SouthWest region, just a few kilometres from Nontron and Montbron. The house's artisan-trainers are responsible for passing on Hermès' know-how and culture. Certified by the Ministry of Education, these assessors train apprentices for the French CAP vocational qualification in leatherworking and saddlery, or for CQP vocational certificates in leather cutting and stitching.

Two cohorts of 40 apprentices join the École Hermès des Savoir-Faire in Marthon each year. The next intake will start their training in September 2024, for which applications are currently open on the École Hermès des savoir-faire website (https://ecole.hermes.com/).

This new facility is located 4 kilometres from Angoulême town centre, on the site of the former Bel-Air airfield, which is now a ZAC (urban development zone). The building plans for the new workshop have been drawn up by Bordeaux-based architects Guiraud-Manenc, making use of vernacular materials for its wooden frame, straw-based insulation and Charente stone cladding, all sourced from local businesses. In order to limit its energy consumption, the site will incorporate 1,800 square metres of rooftop solar panels. The building is designed to be a positive-energy construction, in line with the Hermès Group's environmental ambitions, and complies with the Harmonie framework, the house's guidelines for sustainable real estate.

Hermès establishes long-term relationships with its local partners. To prepare for this new facility, the house has been supported by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Development and Innovation Agency and the Greater Angoulême Urban Community. For the site's development, Hermès is also working with the Poitiers Education Authority, the adult education services Greta Poitou-Charentes in Angoulême and Greta-CFA Aquitaine, and the France Travail employment service.

Since 1837, Hermès has remained faithful to its artisan model and its humanist values. The freedom to create, the spirit of innovation, the constant search for beautiful materials, the transmission of savoir-faire of excellence, and the aesthetic of functionality all forge the singularity of Hermès, a house of objects created to last.

An independent, family-owned company which encompasses 16 métiers, Hermès is dedicated to keeping the majority of its production in France through its 60 production and training sites and to developing its network of 294 stores in 45 countries. The group employs 22,000 people worldwide, including 13,700 in France, of which nearly 7,000 are craftspeople*. Axel Dumas, a sixth-generation family member, has been Hermès CEO since 2013.

Founded in 2008, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès supports projects in the areas of artistic creation, education, training and the transmission of savoir-faire, biodiversity, and the preservation of the environment.

* As of 31st December 2023

International Press Director:

Sophie Seibel-Traonouïl

Press contacts: Caroline Schwartz / Hélène Perromat cschwartz@hermes.com / helene.perromat@hermes.com Tel: +33 1 40 17 48 23 / 44 13

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Hermès International SA published this content on 05 April 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 05 April 2024 10:17:10 UTC.