Hermes has leapfrogged LVMH to become the world's most valuable luxury goods firm.

The French firm, famed for its silk scarves and Birkin handbags, secured the top spot yesterday (April 15) after shares in its rival tumbled by 7.8% on the back of disappointing first-quarter results.

LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, reported a 3% fall in sales to £17.5billion over the first three months of the year.

By contrast, Hermes shares crawled 0.2% higher, giving it a market value of £215billion to LVMH's £209billion.

It means Hermes has toppled its French opponent  to become the world's largest luxury goods company - 15 years after it fought off a takeover by its then bigger rival.

It is the latest setback for LVMH, which has seen its shares fall nearly 40% in the past 12 months - and more than 15% since US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on 'Liberation Day' this month.

The slump has wiped £10billion off the fortune of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault - though he remains France's richest man with £125billion to his name.

Luxury goods struggled post-Covid as consumers reigned in their spending.

LVMH had reigned supreme as Europe's largest firm but was surpassed in September 2023 by Novo Nordisk, the maker of weight loss drug Ozempic.

Now, LVMH ranks behind Europe's biggest firm - German software company SAP - as well as Novo Nordisk and Hermes.

Hermes has weathered the slowdown due to carefully calibrated exclusivity and tightly controlled production which has resulted in long waiting lists for its Kelly and Birkin handbags.

It's only UK stores are located in London and Manchester meaning a minimum five hours of traveling from Gloucestershire for those wanting purchase one of its bags or scarves.

However, the brand has also continued to court fury from animal rights activists due to its  use of exotic skins like crocodile and lizard in its bags. In September PETA protestors stormed the stage at  the Hermes runway show during Paris Fashion Week.