‘It is a compelling moment in the art world,’ says Robin Woodhead, Sotheby’s executive vice president and chief executive, Europe and Asia. ‘There has been a fundamental change in the market worldwide. Growing numbers of people have begun to take an interest in art, and we see continuing effective economies and new emerging markets — China, Russia, India — creating wealth on a scale that is unprecedented.’ He adds, ‘History tells us that the nouveau riche inevitably acquire works of art as symbols of wealth, power and culture.’ So do his company accounts.
Fresh from a New York evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art which saw the second highest auction total in the firm’s 263-year history — a massive $278 million realised for just 55 lots — he outlines why Sotheby’s is responding to new market realities and using its recent record profits to transform its global business. Its new strategies are bold, and they are also brazen.
Bold because with a single executive stroke Sotheby’s senior management and board have jettisoned half of its business. It will close its Olympia saleroom in west London, which offers collectables and less valuable lots, and shed staff processing low-end sales in London, New York, Amsterdam and Milan. Some of Olympia’s business will be transferred to Bond Street, and there, as elsewhere, no lot will be accepted for sale with a value of less than £3,000. It matters not that Olympia has always been profitable (it has an annual turnover pushing £60 million), or that a new long-term lease on the building was signed only last year. ‘It is not profitable enough,’ emphasises Woodhead. The figures — and the logic — are clear enough. Last year, the US-based company’s auction sales rose to their highest-ever total, $3.75
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in