Bulgari family sells LVMH shares Shares in LVMH lost 3.5 per cent after shareholders Paolo Bulgari, Nicola Bulgari and Francesco Trapani sold a €558m stake in the world's largest maker of luxury goods. The Bulgari family, brothers Paolo and Nicola and Mr Trapani, their nephew, had accrued the stake as part of a deal struck last March which saw the Roman jeweller sold to LVMH for E3.7bn in the biggest luxury goods deal in a decade. Mr Trapani also joined LVMH as head of its enlarged watches and jewellery division. IN Luxury 360 People close to the deal said the Bulgari family had decided to reduce their stake after a strong rise in the shares in the past year and a strong set of results from the world's largest luxury goods group. The family were advised by Credit Suisse, who also advised the Roman jeweller on its sale to LVMH a year ago at a 60 per cent premium to its share price. LVMH's watches and jewellery division posted the strongest growth of any of its divisions in 2011, growing 98 per cent year-on-year due to the acquisition of Bulgari. Stripping out the acquisition, sales grew 41 per cent on a comparable basis. Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH, speaking last week said "the agreement with the Bulgari family was one of the key moments of the year." Jewellery and watches sales were worth €1.95bn to LVMH in 2011, with growth across all regions and product lines. Mr Trapani has said the group will look to make further acquisitions in the area. The move by LVMH to develop its watches and jewellery business, known as "hard luxury," comes as analysts predict massive growth in the segment over the next decade. In a report published last year, Bernstein Research analysts predicted a "wave of accessible and aspirational demand" and a cultural shift from non-branded jewellery to branded would open the market over the next few years. It estimated the jewellery market in its broadest sense is worth €136bn ($184bn) across all price points - mass market, aspirational luxury and high end, and both branded and non-branded retail. Compared with other sectors, jewellery is underpenetrated by brands, which account for just 12 per cent of the overall market compared with 50 per cent of the watches market and 80 per cent of perfumes. Only an estimated 5 per cent of the market, or €7bn, is in the hands of the big brands such as Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef and Graff.