Our customers
"At Hermès, we believe that true luxury lies in quality and authenticity. Our clients seek products that tell a story and are crafted with care and passion." - Axel Dumas
Ambition
Since 1837, Hermès has been producing exceptional objects, designed to last and be passed down. Leveraging its artisanal know-how, exclusive distribution network, and creative heritage, Hermès integrates sustainability into all aspects of its business model, considering its product and service offerings, its clients, geographical areas, and stakeholder relationships.
Responsible communication
The group is committed to responsible, sincere, non-deceptive, precise, and balanced communication, giving significant importance to multi-local expressions. The house thus creates lasting and authentic connections with its customers by offering exceptional quality products and a unique experience. Responsible communication is an integral part of the house's ethical charter, which reaffirms the common desire of the house to respect certain fundamental principles that facilitate relationships, including those with clients.
Hermès is committed to meeting the growing expectations of its clients regarding ethical and environmental transparency. Since 2022, the environmental footprint of its products has been displayed.
In accordance with the requirements of the AGEC law in France, this labeling, currently being deployed, informs consumers and stakeholders about the environmental impact of Hermès objects.
Close to its customers, the house offers a traveling exhibition, Hermès in the Making, which highlights the craftsmanship and sustainable know-how of the house. During this event, the public can meet the craftspeople and discover the exclusive techniques used to create Hermès products. The exhibition includes live demonstrations, interactive workshops, and films, offering a unique insight into the skills and expertise of the craftsmen. This gives customers the opportunity to understand and appreciate the quality and authenticity of the products they purchase.
Protection of personal data and cybersecurity.
Respect for privacy is more than a legal obligation; it is a core value of the house and an essential commitment to maintaining a trustful relationship with all its internal stakeholders, such as its employees, and external stakeholders, such as its partners, suppliers, and customers. The group is thus developing its strategy in terms of cybersecurity and personal data protection.
The protection of personal data
Since 2015, Hermès has adopted a set of rules to protect the personal data of its customers in the form of Binding Corporate Rules (BCR). These BCRs, approved by the European Data Protection Authorities, apply to all Group entities with a distribution activity. These BCRs, still in full force, foreshadowed the Group’s more general data protection system. Since then, the Hermès Group has implemented a more extensive data protection system covering all the personal data it collects (customers, employees, third parties, etc.) and all of its subsidiaries and métiers, regardless of their location.
The Group Data Protection Officer is responsible for informing and advising the Company on its legal and regulatory obligations with regard to personal data, and steering and monitoring data processing and ensuring its compliance with these obligations. The Data Protection Officer relies on a network of people throughout the Group who keep him informed about issues related to the processing of personal data
The principles of protection of privacy by design and by default are ensured by the use of tools for managing data protection impact assessments (DPIA) and managing the record of processing activities. These tools are part of the procedure for integrating security and privacy into projects (ISP), which involves the Group’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Data Protection Officer teams.
Hermès manages individuals' rights over their data through a tool and procedure that allow requests to be processed quickly, diligently, and harmoniously, regardless of their geographical origin or the contact channel used.
Main actions implemented
Awareness and training program
- An online training module (e-learning) deployed internationally since 2020 and intended for all group employees, translated into several languages. To date, more than 15,000 people among the most sensitive functions and professions have completed this module.
- In-person training sessions for the most exposed employees, particularly human resources staff and store employees
Cybersecurity
At Hermès, cybersecurity is a key priority to protect the sensitive data of the company, its customers, and its partners. The group develops its cybersecurity strategy under the responsibility of the Information Systems Security Manager, who leads a set of committees to monitor projects and the evolution of cyber risks, reporting to the executive committee (including the General Manager of business, information systems, and data) and the audit and risk committee.
These initiatives are organized in the new 2023-2025 roadmap, structured around three pillars:
- maintaining fundamentals
- adapting to new threats
- strengthening resilience
Existing security and resilience measures are subject to a series of tests throughout the year.
The company's internal regulations and the global information systems security policy (G-ISSP) are the reference documents, based on international standards (such as the NIST CyberSecurity Framework or ISO 27001) and best security practices.
Additionally, periodic IT security and compliance audits are conducted across all subsidiaries, in collaboration with the audit and risk management department and with the help of external service providers. These audits ensure that internal control measures remain effective and adapted to current and emerging major threats, and that they are well-aligned with applicable laws and regulations where the company operates.
Hermès is fully committed to the creation and management of the Cyber Campus, which aims to bring together digital security actors within a flagship location to protect society and promote French excellence in the field. The Hermès CERT, now part of InterCERT France, operates from the Campus.
The continuity of IT operations is also regularly tested. Broader operational resilience efforts have also begun, including identifying and consolidating critical activities for the group and each business unit. Hermès also aims to involve its external stakeholders in these continuity efforts, which are starting to be extended to our main suppliers: a platform for monitoring their evaluation has been acquired, allowing for the adjustment of the tripartite operation with the first pilots.
Our policies and publications
To go further and discover our main policies on sustainable development and our recent publications
