Hermes International: Protecting its Family Business from LVMH’s Hostile Takeover




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BACKGROUND NOTE

The history of Hermes International dates back to 1837 when Thierry Hermes (Thierry), a German protestant and leather harness maker who had settled in France since 1828, started a store in Paris. The store specialized in handmade saddles, riding paraphernalia, and bridles.

In 1880, Charles Emile Hermes (Charles), son of Thierry, took over the reins of the family business and moved the shop to 24 Rue de Faubourg Saint Honore. Charles expanded the business into saddlery and was soon supplying saddles and harnesses to several aristocrats across the world.

Charles had two sons – Adolphe and Emile-Maurice. Throughout the 1920s, Emile-Maurice remained the head of Hermes since Adolphe had left the company believing that it had a limited future in the era of the horseless carriage. During the 1920s, Emile-Maurice added an accessory collection and a clothing collection. He had four daughters (one of whom died in 1920). He got his three daughters married and groomed his three sons-in-law – Robert Dumas (Robert), Jean-René Guerrand, and Francis Puech – as business partners (Refer to Exhibit I for the genealogical tree of the Hermes family)....

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