Sotheby's bets on Chinese spending with Hong Kong retail outlet
By Clare Jim
HONG KONG, July 25 (Reuters) -Sotheby's embarks on a new kind of selling in Hong Kong on Saturday, with its first retail outlet, stocking anything from collectable trainers to dinosaur fossils, with prices starting at several hundred dollars.
Luxury spending has fallen in China, as the country's economy struggles with a downturn in property and capital markets, eating into the sales of companies such as LVMH LVMH.PA.
But Sotheby's said it was confident in Chinese spending for the long term.
The company's new space in Hong Kong's Central financial district will display hundreds of objects. Apart from paintings and other pieces of art typically associated with auction houses, they include books, furniture, Nike x Louis Vuitton crossover sneakers and dinosaur fossils. Prices are from HK$5,000 to HK$50 million ($640.6-$6.41 million).
The retail section will occupy one floor of Sotheby's new 24,000 square feet (2,230 sqm) premises, while another floor will be for exhibitions.
Sotheby's said it plans to open similar outlets in New York and Paris in the coming months, following on from its pioneering outlet in Hong Kong.
Asian clients accounted for 30% of Sotheby's global transaction volume in 2023. That included a large contribution from Greater China, the auction house said, without providing details.
Sotheby's said more than a third of the buyers at a major series of auctions in New York two months ago were Asian, while Chinese buyers had paid high prices.
"Certainly we see sustained momentum coming out from Asia and China into our business," Nathan Drahi, Sotheby’s Asia managing director, told reporters on Thursday, ahead of the official opening of its Asia store on July 27.
($1 = 7.8053 Hong Kong dollars)
Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Barbara Lewis
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
