Hermès Boutique in Canton... Record sales for the reopening!

After weeks of confinement, one shop after another opens all over China. And one of them created the event, the Hermès boutique in Guangzhou! The Chinese reflex? To rush into the stores they were deprived of during this very special period... And to take full advantage of it!

Dishes, scarves, shoes or Birkin bag in limited edition . On Saturday 11 April, the Hermès boutique in Guangzhou (Canton), the second largest in the country, was robbed, with the highest sales ever achieved in a single day. In total, customers reportedly spent $2.7 million in this store this Saturday, or around 2.46 million euros.

Coming from all over Guangdong province, China's richest region, VIPs were spotted during this incredible day of shopping, as well as social network personalities from the Middle Kingdom who unveiled their purchases, such as Atomniu who posted on Xiahongshu photos of what he bought, a beautiful bag and some clothes and shoes.

A real phenomenon on social networks, some customers are sending photos of the shop in full swing, customers queuing up, and there is even a customer who posted her receipt online showing 142,000 dollars of purchases, or 130,000 euros!

According to the Women's Wear Daily, the famous American fashion daily, this is the highest level of revenue ever recorded in a boutique in China, a record that goes to Hermès, the jewel of French luxury, whose annual worldwide sales reached $6.88 billion in 2019.

This Saturday, April 11th is seen as an event, but also as a phenomenon that many observers call "Revenge spending", an expression that originated in China in the 1980s, when customers rushed to luxury or foreign stores after years of frustration during the Cultural Revolution instituted by Mao Zedong.

If this day was a success thanks to the customers, it also owes it to the relevance of the house which offered something new, such as a special edition of the famous Birkin bag, the Birkin Himalaya, in crocodile skin and diamonds.

According to Hermès, "The reopening of this boutique confirms the house's commitment to southern China and marks a new chapter for the Parisian house in Guangzhou, where it has been present since 2004". This boutique, previously occupied by Prada, has become a strategic location for Hermès and was designed by the Parisian architectural firm RDAI. The boutique features a large iconic façade with a minimalist aesthetic, with enamel and brick, and a ground floor with two entrances. The Parisian architect also thought of installing wooden claustras revealing the store's interior with the famous Hermès squares, as well as some fashion accessories and perfumes scenographed at the entrance of the store.

Thibaut de La Rivière, Director of Sup de Luxe, notes that "China is now being watched by the world in its management of the pandemic, and is also being watched in its management of the recovery and in the behaviour of customers once the containment is over ... And that is fortunately a good lesson in optimism".