All Together Now, Hermès USA Meets and Greets

Those visiting Times Square on Memorial Day a little after 8 a.m. might have done a double take. Standing cheek-to-jowl on the red steps of the TKTS Broadway discount ticket booths were 750 people, the American employees of Hermès of Paris. The photo op was part of an event unofficially dubbed Hermès Family Reunion, which was held at Manhattan’s Marriott Marquis Hotel. “We use the word ‘family’ in a very warm sense,” said Robert Chavez, president and chief executive officer of Hermès USA. “It’s all about family and community. It was a great time to bring everybody together, to connect and share. Because we’ve gotten bigger and our business has gotten bigger, we wanted to say that we care about you and want you to feel connected to each other.” Chavez declined to disclose the budget for the event, but said it “wasn’t insignificant.” Besides the travel expenses, the company closed all of its U.S. stores for three days, so that the retail staff could participate in the reunion. “We’re aware of the lost sales,” Chavez said. “That’s irrelevant. We told our clients there’s a special company-wide gathering taking place in New York City from May 26 to 28, and said we’ll reopen

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