This article was about how Hermes (fashion) had managed to increase it's profit quite dramatically through the period surrounding the credit crunch, by keeping their driving force of craftsmanship solid throughout the period and not looking to lower costs through mass production.
I was particularly drawn to this image of a new store - it looks really striking and also has links to the willow project we have just completed at Ecobuild. I love the organic forms against the solid lines of the building, I also like the aspect of partial views - this is something very interesting to consider particularly in reference to retail.
The article explained that as the brand has recently moved to China, they have taken quite a unique route in order to do this 'take the Hermes vision and put it in a different country' so that products are almost entirely Chinese. This allows them to create cultural products but with the brands twist at the high end of the market , rather than going to China to manufacture similar products at a lower price. I really like this view of respecting craftsmanship, as it seems to be dying out which is such a shame. Often I find that if someone explains the process of how something was made to me it makes it so much more special and this is what Hermes are standing by as a firm, I'm really glad to hear this.
Another thing I read which links to what we are doing in platform 5, is how they tackle recycling and appeal to eco- friendly customers. They produced a collection of one off's that are made from 'discarded Hermes materials' such as leather and towels; and these have proved to be so popular that they all sold within 3 weeks.
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