HERMÈS LAYS THE FIRST STONE FOR THE MAROQUINERIE DE LOUPES LEATHER GOODS WORKSHOP IN GIRONDE AND REAFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO CREATING LONG-TERM JOBS AND TRANSMITTING EXCEPTIONAL KNOW-HOW IN THE NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE REGION

Located in the town of Loupes (Gironde), this new manufacture – Hermès’ twenty-fifth leather goods workshop in France – will open in 2026, ultimately employing 260 artisans trained in the house’s exceptional know-how. The Maroquinerie de Loupes will be Hermès’ second production site in Gironde, following the opening of the workshop in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in September 2021.

A boost for employment and training with strong local anchoring
The Gironde hub will enable artisans to pass on the culture of the saddlery and leather goods métier and the house’s know-how. At the École Hermès des savoir-faire, an apprentice training centre accredited by the French Ministry of Education and rolled out in the Gironde hub in 2023, Hermès artisan trainers teach the techniques of leatherworking excellence. As Ministry-certified assessors, they award the French vocational CAP qualification in leatherworking and the CQP (certificate for professional qualification) in cutting and stitching.

For its recruitment needs, Hermès is working with local partners such as France Travail Nouvelle-Aquitaine, as well as the GRETA-CFA Aquitaine adult education service, and the Charles Péguy high school in Eysines.
The next intake will start their training in October 2024, for which applications are currently open on the École Hermès des savoir-faire website (https://ecole.hermes.com/).

Anchored in Nouvelle-Aquitaine for the long term
Hermès has strong roots in the region, with the Ganterie-Maroquinerie de Saint-Junien gloves and leather goods workshop (Haute-Vienne), and the Maroquineries de Nontron (Dordogne), Montbron (Charente), Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (Gironde) and soon, L’Isle d'Espagnac (Charente), which will open in 2025. The new Maroquinerie de Loupes will become Hermès Leather Goods and Saddlery’s sixth production site in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

The house is strengthening its role as a socially responsible company, creating high-quality jobs and reaffirming its intention to make a sustainable contribution to regional development across France.
To establish this new manufacturing site, Hermès worked with the Communauté de Communes du Créonnais and the Sysdau, a mixed syndicate in charge of l'Aire Métropolitaine Bordelaise local authority.

Architecture suited to its natural environment
The design and construction of the workshop was entrusted to the architecture firm Patrick Arotcharen Architecte, which designed the first workshop in Gironde, the Maroquinerie de Guyenne (Saint-Vincent-de-Paul).

The new building will be set in naturally wooded grounds. To blend in with the site's vegetation, the workshop will have curvilinear lines with a cut-out profile that follows the natural shape of the land and the position of the existing trees.
The water reservoir, car park and workshop itself will be built one above the other to limit the use of undeveloped land.
Hermès is working with an ecologist to meet the challenges of preserving and developing the site’s biodiversity.
The new workshop’s foundations will be made of low-carbon concrete and its structure will be in wood and bio-sourced materials.

To limit its energy footprint, the site will be equipped with rooftop solar panels and underground geothermal probes. Rainwater recovery will cover 70% of the building’s needs. In line with the Hermès Group’s environmental ambitions, the finished workshop will be a positive energy building and will comply with the Harmonie framework, the house’s guidelines for sustainable real estate.