Stretching the luxury brand into product ranges beyond their traditional areas of competence is a classic business-building strategy in the luxury market. Through the stretch, they cash in on their reputation in one sphere to extend it into another where they haven't played before.
Hermès is a brand that has spanned itself across the globe and gained well-deserved praise from its quality craftsmanship and creativity. From its founding in 1837 as a Paris harness shop and saddlery serving European aristocracy, the luxury brand explored further from its core competency in leather goods into silk scarves and ties, ready-to-wear fashion, perfume and beauty, jewellery and watches to home furnishings.
Recently, it's been keeping a close eye on today's technology - not just as an alternative channel of distribution, but in products through its Apple Watch partnership too. Planning its next step ahead, Hermès has now set its eye on the metaverse as the next frontier.
In most recent news, luxury brand Hermès is laying the groundwork for its entrance to Web3 after filing a trademark application covering nonfungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrencies and the Metaverse. Other than that, the brand has also filed trademarks for "retail store services featuring virtual goods" as well as fashion and trade shows in "online virtual, augmented or mixed reality environments" and for "providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of virtual goods."
To no surprise, the luxury brand is looking to reunite with its peers in the Metaverse. Earlier this year, Decentraland's Metaverse Fashion Week, a four-day digital fashion event featuring wearables on virtual runways, saw the appearance of luxury brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Metro, Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder and Elie Saab. Just last month, data from Dune Analytics revealed that leading brands including Nike, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Adidas and Tiffany & Co. had amassed a combined $260 million worth of sales from NFTs alone.