(BLOOMBERG) - The demand for popular designer handbags is very strong even though people are staying home more these days. Sales of Louis Vuitton handbags and the easing of coronavirus lockdowns across the world helped revenue soar at fashion house LVMH. In a stellar quarter for the owner of some of the world's best-known luxury brands, like-for-like sales at the group rose 84 per cent in the three months through June, ahead of analysts' expectations. Much of the gain was fuelled by demand for fashion and leather goods, particularly at Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Loewe and Celine, the company said in a statement. Organic revenue in this division jumped 120 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier and 40 per cent from the same period in 2019. LVMH benefited from an easy comparison with 2020 as many stores remained shut last year due to the pandemic. Demand "remains very strong", chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony said. This is the "strongest first-half update ever" for LVMH and will probably prompt earnings upgrades for a company seen as the bellwether of the luxury goods industry, Mr Luca Solca, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in a note to clie...