Sotheby’s expands in Shanghai, lured by wealth in mainland China
SOTHEBY’S is expanding from its longstanding foothold Hong Kong into mainland China, betting on the nation’s wealthy and brushing aside concerns about economic slowdowns.
The auction house will grow its office in Shanghai this year, conducting transactions directly in mainland China. While it had done so in the country as early as 1994, it later consolidated sales to Hong Kong because of the city’s role as Asia’s art hub.
The company recently beefed up its suite of licences to enable other services such as Sotheby’s Buy Now, where consumers can buy off the shelf, instead of bidding.
“It’s more demand, but in a way it’s also a way for us to capture a market,” Nathan Drahi, Sotheby’s Asia managing director said in an interview. “We see tremendous potential in the mainland.”
The company also plans to display more items and hire staff in the country, Drahi said without elaborating on details.
China is grabbing a bigger slice of the global art trade, with the world’s second-largest share of billionaire wealth. Collectors from Hong Kong and the mainland are estimated to have bought twice as many works in 2022 than the previous year and have a higher-than-average group of consumers who spend more than US$1 million, according to an Art Basel and UBS report.
In the luxury sector, Chinese consumers could account for as much as 40 per cent of customers globally by 2030, according to a report by Bain & Company and Fondazione Altagamma.
Sotheby’s sales in Asia last year reached a record US$1.1 billion, contributing to a global record of US$8 billion. The company announced plans for a new location in Hong Kong. Competing auction house Christie’s will also move into a new office in the city in 2024.
Outside of China, the art industry is paying attention to Singapore, which has seen a surge of wealth and talent after it eased Covid restrictions earlier than its rival financial hubs in Asia. In August, Sotheby’s held its first auction in Singapore in 15 years, and the city-state held an inaugural art fair.
“Singapore I think is a rising regional platform for arts,” said Drahi, who is the son of Sotheby’s owner Patrick Drahi. The auction house recently had a private sales event for jewellery in the city and was “positively surprised” by the results, and plans to do more in the country, Drahi said. BLOOMBERG
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