--FILE--A security guard stands in front of the Maison Hermes in Shanghai, China, 25 September 2014. The luxury goods maker Hermes has reported a 20% rise in operating income to €748m for the for the first half of 2015, despite its heavy reliance on the slowing economy of China. The French group, which has a number of stores in the UK selling its Kelly bags and silk scarves, said on Friday (28 August 2015) that sales in Japan rose 20% in the period, while in Europe they increased 7%. Earlier this month, Hermes was included by the US bank Citi in a list of 48 large companies with high exposure to the slowing Chinese economy. Citi estimated that between 20-25% of the companys revenues came from China.Although the latest results fall too early to take into account the latest gyrations in Chinas stock market, they incorporate a period during which the countrys economy has been slowing down. Hermes says sales in Asia excluding Japan grew by 7% in the first half of the year, despite the difficult context in Hong Kong and Macau.
