PARIS (Reuters). Despite beating expectations, Birkin Bag maker Hermes saw a 31% increase in sales for the third quarter. This was despite the fact that the rate of recovery from the pandemic coronavirus halted the market’s pace.

UBS reported that analysts expected similar revenues from the French luxury brand, which removes currency fluctuation, to increase by 21% during the three months to September.

According to the company, revenues for the third quarter reached 2.37 billion euros (or $2.76 billion) which is about 40% higher than the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, the company stated on Thursday.

Companies that specialize in luxury goods have seen a sharp recovery from the effects of the recent health crisis. They were buoyed by strong demand for their high-end products as global lockdowns are eased and people return to socializing.

The sector’s key revenue source, shopping from tourists on the road, is still very muted. Also, the growth was impacted by the resurgence COVID-19 in Asia this summer.

Finance chief Eric du Halgouët shrugged off concerns about a slowdown in China, the industry’s biggest market, saying store traffic, the percentage of people leaving its shops with a purchase and the average sum spent in its stores were all on the rise in the past quarter.

The group was not affected by comments made by Chinese leaders, which indicated plans to lower wealth in China through property taxes.

According to him, “We’ve seen in China over the last quarters an acceleration in store traffic, an improvement of conversion rates and an increased average basket.”

Online sales have helped to attract this clientele in our stores.

($1 = 0.8584 euros)