LVMH

Families will feud. They will feud between themselves and with other families. These feuds can get pretty nasty, and when there’s money and power involved the nastiness often gets aired in public.

So it is with two of France’s most powerful families – the 70-plus family members behind Hermes and the Arnaults, or more specifically, the patriarch, Bernard Arnault. Arnault and his family control more than 40% of the world’s biggest luxury products business, LVMH.

The Bulgari family has sold almost 4.5 million shares in French luxury goods group LVMH less than a year after it became the conglomerate's second biggest family shareholder.

Brothers Paolo and Nicola Bulgari, the grandsons of Sotirio Bulgari, who founded the eponymous Italian jeweller, and their nephew Francesco Trapani together sold about a third of the family's LVMH stake, which it acquired after a share swap with the Paris-based group last year.

When you’re the head of a luxury conglomerate like LVMH, there’s a certain upmarket reputation to uphold. So it’s of little wonder that chief executive Bernard Arnault is reportedly in talks to buy property on London’s exclusive Bond Street.

The family business is looking at a trio of shops on the street, including its flagshop Louis Vuitton store at 17-20 Bond Street, according to reports.

Jordi Constans is set to join family business LVMH as the chief executive of the luxury group’s flagship brand Louis Vuitton.

Constans, previously executive vice-president of fresh dairy products at French yoghurt company Danone, will take over from Yves Carcelle - credited with turning Louis Vuitton into a globally recognisable brand.