Bullish Hermès prepares to fight off 'unwanted visitor'

HERMÈS yesterday assured investors it could secure the best performance in its history this year in a display of defiance to stalker LVMH, which recently seized a 17 per cent stake in the Parisian fashion house.

Chief executive Patrick Thomas said that 173-year-old Herms was benefiting from the global rebound in luxury goods as the Dumas family, which controls a majority stake, continued to stand united against LVMH.

Thomas said family shareholders were deciding how to respond to LVMH as French regulators investigate the acquisition of the stake.

"It is logical that, having found a visitor in its garden, (the family] is getting together and discussing ways to respond to this visitor," Thomas said.

He suggested the family's combined 73 per cent stake could act as a "poison pill" - the anti-takeover device that allows shareholders in the target firm to buy shares in its stalker at a deep discount.

Analysts have speculated that the family could regroup its share in an unlisted holding company to prevent a full takeover bid from LVMH, whose Scottish brands include Glenmorangie and Ardbeg.