Hermes, arguably France 's most luxurious fashion house, on Friday posted a 3 per cent rise in earnings to 351.3m euros. Patrick Thomas, chief executive officer of Hermes International, referred to the quarterly growth as consistent with the firm's full-year target of 7 to 7.5 percent.

Thomas further noted the increase would have been close to 10 percent were it not for the elimination of a range of accessories considered a threat to Hermes' upscale image. Thomas also heralded growth in Europe, with the exception of France, where sales jumped 12.6 percent in the quarter to 63.6 million euros "Also, luxury has been going very well in the U.S.," he added. The Americas logged a 7.5 percent organic increase to 55.1 million euros. Gains were more modest in points east, with an 1.8 percent organic increase in Japan to 94 million euros and a 3.1 percent rise in Asia to 156.7 million euros.