French luxury group Hermès beat market expectations with its Q3 revenue improving by 31 percent. Analysts had expected comparable sales to grow by 21 percent in the three months leading to September.

The Birkin bag maker generated $2.76 billion in revenue, which is approximately 40 percent above the pre-pandemic levels. The growth in revenue came despite a slowdown in sales in the previous three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For Hermès and other high-end luxury brands, a decline in tourism has weighed heavily on sales with an increase in Covid-19 cases in key markets such as Asia, resulting in lockdowns. Another key concern has been the Chinese government’s crackdown on high net worth individuals in an effort to close the wealth gap in the country.

Hermès’ CFO Eric du Halgouët, however, shrugged off such concerns. Halgouët noted that store traffic and the average amount spent in its stores are climbing back up, and the group has so far not observed any impact on its sales resulting from wealth and tax policy changes in the country.

“We have observed in China in recent quarters an acceleration of store traffic, an improvement in conversion rates and an increase in average baskets,” he said. “This new clientele is brought, in part, by online sales, which have contributed strongly to drawing this new clientele into our stores.”