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Sotheby's dismantled e -commerce in China, the main mainland after two years of the auction house committed to expanding its online capabilities to buy immediate arts and luxury materials.
Three people are aware of this issue that in recent months, Sothebiz has closed the “Buy Now” program online on the mainland, amid a slowdown in the Chinese demand, which for decades of prices of high -end things.
The 280 -year -old auction house left a number of employees in China on the mainland, according to one of the persons and other exporters, who added that some of the main employees will remain in consulting roles.
Sotheby's launched the “Buy Now” platform in Hong Kong in 2022 and expanded it to China on the mainland in the first half of 2023, where it celebrated 50 years in Asia.
At that time, she said that the expansion will lead to “identifying active sources in the region for the first time, providing new ways for the plural enthusiasts to buy and sell beyond the conventional auction calendar, and grant 24/7, 365 days to exceptional well -being, art and fine and decorative objects in a variety of Prices, all available for immediate purchase. “
The main auction houses, including Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips, were intensifying online sales in the wake of a luxurious boom with epidemic, as social dimensions rules are normalized online bidding and high -end goods. Several auction houses have seen “Buy Now” platforms as a way to capture customers for new beginners in fine arts and luxury.
Sotheby's began to hold the events in an area on the basement at its Chinese headquarters in Shanghai, partly to help increase the sales of “Buy Now”, in 2023, but the person familiar with the matter said that the company had not hosted any of it since last May.
Sotheby told the Financial Times that China has been a “major market for both art and luxury.” He added that it will continue in the “Buy Now” program in Hong Kong, “The main market”, where it opened a retail space on an area of 24,000 square feet in July last year. It also transferred its headquarters in Asia to new larger places in the city.
She said that her offices in Beijing and Shanghai were open and active, and continued to host events “across China.” Sotheby added that his general presence has never launched the “Buy Now” program, and has now focused on customer relationships.
The company's global auction sales decreased by 23 percent on an annual basis in 2024, according to the numbers issued last week. Sotheby's does not separate its annual results, but it highlighted that some of its most prominent sales were on the continent, including selling Mark Rothco of $ 32.5 million No title (yellow and blue) In Hong Kong and Claude Monet Nymph (Water Lilies) for $ 65.5 million to the Asian Mosque.
The company, which does not publicly reveal full financial results, revealed to the lenders 88 percent drowns On its basic profits in the first half of 2024, as revenues decreased by 22 percent, FT said in August.
In the same month, the sovereign wealth fund residing in Abu Dhabi announced that the matter will take a share as part of a $ 1 billion in capital injection Besides the current owner, Patrick Drahi, billionaire for communications, in an attempt to finance growth and debt trim.
Art industry sources said that the withdrawal of China was part of a wider decline, and Sotheby confirmed to FT that he had closed a Bangkok office. In addition, the auction house began to lay off with about 50 employees in his office in London last year, I mentioned ft In June.
“I think they tried hard to explore many things (that) did not go well,” said a person familiar with the Asian art market, who did not want to name something that he did not want to call. “They wanted to enter something big in China (but). Discover it is a difficult space in it.”
Nian Liu reports in Beijing and Chan Ho-Him and Galaria Lee in Hong Kong, William Langley in Guangzhou and Thomas Hill in Shanghai
