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Updated on 10 November 2026 : according to Axel Dumas, Executive Chairman of Hermès, the Geneva store ranks among the house's five leading stores in Europe. Luxury Tribune reports 890 m² of retail space out of 2,200 m² in total, a 70% increase.
Background
Hermès has occupied a listed modernist building since 2011, designed by Geneva architect Marc-Joseph Saugey, according to Luxe.net. The house opened its first store outside France in Switzerland, in 1947. It also makes its watches there, in the Jura.
The key points
On Thursday 5 November 2026, Hermès presented its renovated Geneva store to the media. It opens to the public on Saturday 7 November. The project took more than four years, including more than two years of works, according to Le Temps.
The sales area now covers nearly 1,000 m² and the customer journey has been completely redesigned. The main entrance moves from Rue du Rhône to Ruelle Robert-Céard. The building thus regains its original façade. The store's official address remains 42, Rue du Rhône, according to the Hermès website.
The house's sixteen crafts are spread over six floors : silk, perfume, jewellery, watchmaking, leather goods and ready-to-wear. Paris agency RDAI designed the interior. Axel Dumas, head of Hermès, and his cousin Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director, presented the store.
The store is now organised by universe, rather than by craft. The ground floor houses accessories, beauty and home. The first floor is devoted to menswear, the second to leather, jewellery and watchmaking, and the third to womenswear, according to Luxury Tribune. The building is now owned by the Hermès group.
Sources differ on the floor area. Luxury Tribune counts 890 m² of retail space on five levels, for 2,200 m² in total. For the opening, the house created exclusive pieces, including an Arceau watch and a Bolide bag.
Key figures
- Nearly 1,000 m² : retail space, according to the first sources
- 890 m² : retail space out of 2,200 m² in total, according to Luxury Tribune
- +70 % : increase in retail space, according to Luxury Tribune
- Top 5 : the store's rank among Hermès's leading stores in Europe
- 16 crafts : brought together on six floors
- 17th : opening for the brand this year
- 9 : Hermès stores in Switzerland, eight of them directly operated (Basel, Crans, Geneva, Gstaad, Lausanne, Lugano, St. Moritz and Zurich), according to Luxe.net and Option Finance
- 1947 : first Hermès store outside France, in Switzerland
Who says what
- Axel Dumas (Executive Chairman of Hermès): Geneva was the second store opened after Paris, in 1947, and the house has been present there "for 80 years". Local customers and year-round residents in Switzerland show strong growth; Geneva feels the decline in tourist flows.
- Pierre-Alexis Dumas (Artistic Director): each floor has a colour palette inspired by the light on the lake; an 18th-century view of Geneva, never shown before, hangs there.
Analysis
- According to Le Temps : management speaks of a “house” rather than a store and manages its network like a real estate portfolio.
Further reading
Sources
- Luxury Tribune – Axel Dumas, Executive Chairman of Hermès: Switzerland and Geneva, a haven of stability
- Le Temps – Hermès took more than two years to renovate its Geneva store, a local sign of a long-term strategy
- Luxe.net – Hermès Geneva: sixteen crafts on six levels
- Option Finance – Hermès renovates and expands its Geneva store
- Hermès – Hermès Geneva, 42 Rue du Rhône (official source)
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