PARIS — Hermès said Tuesday it will open a new factory in France, hiring 260 artisans to staff a leather workshop in Normandy just as its just as its main competitor, LVMH, is threatening to increase production to the United States at Europe’s expense.
The announcement from the Birkin bag-maker comes just days after LVMH boss and Europe’s richest man Bernard Arnault said Europe needs to do more to prevent its companies from offshoring to the U.S. to avoid any possible tariffs from the Trump administration.
Trump slapped tariffs on all imports into the U.S. earlier this month before backtracking amid financial turmoil, suspending the highest tariffs proposed for 90 days to create an opening to negotiate a trade deal.
Arnault has been an outspoken fan of Trump’s plans to woo manufacturers and has slammed the French government and the European Union for, respectively, raising taxes and enacting regulations that, in his words, “penalize our economic sectors.”
French President Emmanuel Macron had urged European business to freeze investments in the U.S. in response to Trump’s tariffs.
The French luxury sector is particularly exposed to the ongoing trade war as it is heavily reliant on exports. But while LVMH registered a decline in sales in the first quarter of 2025, Hermes’ sales went up in the same period, according to earnings reports released last week.
Amid investor concerns over LVMH’s slump, Hermès last week overtook the Arnault-owned conglomerate as France’s most valuable luxury house and the biggest company listed on the French CAC40. The two traded positions over the following days.
The post Hermès to open new French factory as rival LVMH threatens Trump-inspired US move appeared first on Politico.
