French luxury goods house Hermès Group has reported a sales increase of 8.2% to €721m in the first half of 2007 following accelerated growth of 10% in the second quarter.

The strongest sales growth came from France (10%), the rest of Europe (12%), the Americas (9%) and Asia excluding Japan (12.5%).

Increases were seen across many of its business sectors including silks and textiles (up 14%), ready-to-wear and accessories (11%) and leather goods and saddlery (4%). Leather bag sales jumped 11% in the six-month period.

The group also opened four new branches in this period, in Osaka (Japan), Hangzhou (China), Wall Street (USA) and Shinsegae (Korea).