I cant decide if this news is counter-intuitive or not, but Forbes is reporting that Hermes will post an increase in sales during the first quarter of 2009, a time when many retailers and brands were feeling a big-time sales crunch. Why is that?

Well, the sales increase isnt worldwide. Sales fell modestly in Europe and experienced a double-digit decline in luxury-goods-obsessed Japan, but the brand saw increases large enough in non-Japanese Asia to more than make up for decreases elsewhere. The increases were seen mostly in South Korea and China, which many industry watchers regard as somewhat of a Last Frontier of luxury retail.