Territorial Dynamics and Local Footprint
Ambition
Hermès’ sustainable development is built on long-term, trust-based relationships with its stakeholders. As a responsible corporate citizen, the house actively contributes to the economic, social and cultural vitality of the territories where it operates, particularly in France, and regularly shares the progress of its responsible approach with its stakeholders.
This model, founded on the preservation and transmission of craftsmanship and an uncompromising commitment to quality, relies on strong vertical integration and a deliberate choice to establish roots in territories with high-level manufacturing expertise. This approach ensures traceability, responsible management and security of its supply chains, as well as the preservation of artisanal excellence. In 2025, 55% of products were produced in internal and exclusive workshops, and 75% were made in France.
2025 Key figures
Local presence at the heart of French regions
Hermès affirms its lasting local presence, with 63 production and training sites in France and more than 16,300 employees in 2025, representing over 60% of the group’s workforce. The house deliberately chooses to establish itself at the heart of regional employment areas, directly contributing to the economic and social vitality of the territories where it operates.
True to its artisanal model, each manufacture is designed on a human scale – around 250 craftspeople – to foster closeness, encourage the transmission of know-how and ensure a working environment conducive to excellence. This long-term format relies on a network of experienced craftspeople who train and mentor new generations, thereby ensuring the continuity of savoir-faire.
As a committed contributor to local development, Hermès actively supports French artisanal industries by anchoring its growth in the respect and promotion of the know-how that enriches these territories. This approach translates into the creation of sustainable, skilled jobs that go well beyond the direct jobs created by the house, thereby contributing to the economic vitality of the regions.
For example, in 2023, Hermès’ activity in France supported 89,000 jobs across the national territory, representing 5.4 jobs for every direct job within the house.
Since 2018, the house has continued its development by opening 21 new sites, bringing its network to 79 production and training sites worldwide, including 63 in France. Hermès plans to open approximately one new leather goods workshop per year through 2030, to support its growth while strengthening employment, training and the transmission of craftsmanship expertise.
Example : Lyon region
The Textile division, with 10 sites in the Lyon region, concentrates the House's savoir-faire in this domain. In 2023, the "Passerelles" project carried out in Pierre-Bénite illustrated this ambition: the opening of two new printing lines was accompanied by a strong social commitment, with 5% of workforce time dedicated to the professional integration of employees from disadvantaged neighbourhoods or those far from employment.
Partnerships with local communities
Each new location is established in close consultation with local authorities, around concrete issues: employment, training, mobility, housing, biodiversity and territorial integration. These long-term partnerships aim to create genuine local community dynamics, benefiting employees, their families and surrounding communities.
Often located in rural areas, Hermès sites generate tangible economic benefits: local consumption, real estate activity, and the maintenance and development of collective services – schools, transport, local infrastructure. For example, in 2025, 47% of employees in France –more than 7,600 employees – worked outside major urban areas, reflecting Hermès' lasting commitment to the vitality of rural territories. Furthermore, Hermès is the leading private employer in several municipalities: Le Pré-Saint-Gervais (Seine-Saint-Denis), Nontron (Dordogne), Sayat (Puy-de-Dôme), Montbron (Charente), Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (Gironde).
Training is another pillar of this local presence. In partnership with France Travail and the Écoles Hermès des savoir-faire – created in 2021 to bring training closer to the territories and delivering CAP qualifications in leather goods craftsmanship (saddler-leather goods maker, cutter and stitcher) – the house supports the emergence of new generations of craftspeople. To this end, it organises workshop visits for secondary school students, interventions in middle schools on manual trades, collective information sessions and the development of local training pathways tailored to the needs of the workshops.
Local presence in Seine-Saint-Denis
A major contributor to economic and social development in Seine-Saint-Denis, Hermès has nearly 200,000 m² of infrastructure and more than 2,600 employees there, making it one of the department's leading employers. This local presence translates into a concrete commitment to employment and the local economic fabric: in partnership with the Maison de l’emploi de Pantin and the association Réseau Entreprendre 93, the house actively supports business creation and the coaching of young entrepreneurs – an initiative that has contributed to the creation of 5,000 jobs over 20 years.
On the educational front, since 2021 Hermès has been running an “equal opportunities” initiative with two middle schools in Pantin, offering young people discovery internships in the company’s trades and opening up new career pathways.
Measuring the local footprint
These local commitments are part of a broader territorial dynamic, the concrete impact of which Hermès has sought to measure. In 2025, the house worked with the specialist consultancy Utopies and its LocalFootprint tool to assess, based on the main financial flows of 2023 – wages, purchases and taxes – how its activity translates into jobs, wealth creation and services of benefit to the community.
The results demonstrate a significant multiplier effect: in 2023, Hermès’ activity in France supported 89,000 jobs across the national territory, representing 5.4 jobs for every direct job within the house. These benefits fall into three complementary categories: the house’s direct jobs, indirect jobs supported throughout the supplier chain, and induced jobs generated by household consumption and public spending.
Present across all 13 French regions, these supported jobs reflect an economic vitality that extends well beyond the production sites themselves. Île-de-France accounts for more than 38,000 supported jobs, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes for more than 16,000 – two territories emblematic of the house’s historic local presence.
Long-term partnerships
This capacity to energise territories and create indirect jobs is largely explained by the nature of Hermès’ relationships with its suppliers. Nearly half of the house’s 50 largest direct suppliers are based in France and account for 51% of direct purchases – a local network that directly amplifies the economic benefits across the national territory.
These partnerships are distinguished by their longevity: with an average tenure of 21 years, they reflect a relationship built on trust, shared standards of excellence and a common long-term vision. Far from a purely commercial logic, these collaborations are embedded in a rigorous and demanding ethical framework, integrating respect for the environment, human rights and responsible practices throughout the supply chain.
Shared value, for the benefit of all
Beyond the jobs supported and supplier partnerships, Hermès’ activity in France contributed in 2023 to generating €9.3 billion in national wealth, corresponding to the value added supported in the French economy by the activities of the house, its suppliers and the induced effects of consumption and public spending.
The house, its employees and its suppliers also generate significant public revenue – taxes and social contributions – which contribute to the support of local authorities and help finance essential public services.
This mechanism supports approximately 23,500 jobs in the public sector, more than the direct jobs created by the house alone: more than 8,300 in hospitals and clinics, more than 4,100 in primary and secondary education – the equivalent of nearly 250 primary schools – and more than 3,100 in public administration.
For Hermès, the value created is not measured solely by financial results. It is reflected in what the house’s activity concretely generates for the territories, industries and communities that surround it – through employment, local purchasing, long-term partnerships and taxation.
Disclaimer and Methodology
The results presented correspond to orders of magnitude derived from the Local Footprint economic modelling.
The results presented are drawn from the socio-economic footprint study conducted by UTOPIES using the Local Footprint® tool. Based on an analysis of Hermès’ main financial flows in France in 2023, this modelling estimates the jobs supported and the economic value supported in a direct, indirect and induced manner. The results presented correspond to orders of magnitude derived from economic modelling.
Our themes
Social model
Hermès places women and men at the heart of its corporate project by recruiting diverse talents, ensuring their integration, well-being, and development
Environment
Hermès' environmental policy is based on commitments to climate and natural resource preservation, including biodiversity and circularity
Materials & supply chains
Hermès promotes sustainable practices by sharing its commitments with its supply chain and supporting its partners towards greater responsibility
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