For full access to Puck Inner Circle content,
upgrade or subscribe today.

Hi, and welcome to our first Inner
Circle-exclusive issue. As a reminder, Line Sheet has expanded to five days a week, but the Thursday edition of this private email is only available to our highest tier of membership. We’re including a preview version here today, but upgrade here to read the whole thing going forward. I’m grateful for your support and
also believe that this product is very much worth it.

Thanks to everyone who reached out as we navigate these horrendous fires. My family and I are okay, and I hope you’re okay, too. One big lesson, if you want to get philosophical, is that the lack of local newsgathering makes disasters like these even more difficult to manage. If you are a media executive, it’s never been a better time to crack this
local news thing.

Today’s email is about the future of Hermès, one of my all-time favorite topics of conversation. Word in Paris is that the world’s most worshiped luxury firm is prepping for the launch of a new category. More on that below, plus a couple quick thoughts from me. And if you need a true distraction from the tragedy at hand, might I suggest checking out tomorrow’s episode of
Fashion People with the inimitable Christopher Kane, whose recent collaboration with the London-based Self-Portrait made me miss seeing his wares on the runway. We go pretty deep, and I hope you enjoy it. Listen
here and here. 

Mentioned in this issue: Hermès, Nadège Vanhee, Axel Dumas, Chanel, Matthieu Blazy, Versace,
the Agnelli family, Mayhoola, Kering, Rick Caruso, Palisades Village, Jonathan Anderson, Loewe, Bottega Veneta,  Bruno Pavlovsky, Chris Black, Patrick Radden Keefe, Ozempic, Legos, Babygirl, Daniel-Yaw Miller, and many more… 

Can’t see the full story? For full access to Puck Inner
Circle content, upgrade or subscribe today.

The legendary, family-controlled leather
goods house is contemplating an unprecedented and decidedly old-school move: couture. Do the costs and craft required for this rarefied market make sense for the already stellar quarter-trillion-dollar business?

In fashion, we often say that there is
Hermès, and then there is everyone else. The 186-year-old firm doesn’t play by the rules of luxury, it makes them—setting standards in terms of pricing, distribution, and quality, etcetera. Hermès famously doesn’t have a marketing department or hire celebrities to front its advertising campaigns. 

Hermès also refuses to charge what the market would bear for its priciest handbags. That’s a
pointed tactic that has nestled the company, controlled by the same family for six generations, in the good graces of consumers while still profiting handsomely. Hermès made about $15 billion in 2023, which is peanuts compared to LVMH’s $86 billion, but it had a comparatively advantaged 43.49 percent operating profit compared to LVMH’s 26.5 percent. This spread explains, in part, how its $244 billion market cap is around 75 percent of LVMH’s own $329 billion valuation.

Since Hermès does what it wants, my interest was piqued when I heard recently that the company was plotting an expansion into a category historically devoid of new entrants... 

Puck’s daily art market email, anchored by industry expert Marion Maneker, offers
unparalleled access to the mega-auctions and galleries, elite buyers and sellers, and the power players who run this opaque world. Wall Power also features Julie Davich, a veteran of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, who provides unique insights into how the business really works.

DYLAN BYERS

MATTHEW BELLONI

MARION MANEKER

Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news.

You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with . To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.

Puck is published by Heat Media LLC. 107 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10006