Sotheby’s counts on Chinese buyers with new retail space in Hong Kong

Sotheby’s has opened its new 24,000-square-foot retail and exhibition space in the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district in a bid to tap the region’s luxury retail market despite a recent decline in China’s purchasing power. Hundreds of items, from artworks to dinosaur fossils, are available for immediate sale, with prices ranging from HK$5,000 to HK$50 million ($640 to $6.4 million).

Sotheby’s Maison opened to the public on Saturday, July 27 at Landmark Chater in Central District after more than two years in the making. It spans two floors. The first floor was designed by Rotterdam-based architectural firm MVRDV and is known as Sotheby’s Salon. More than 200 objects are on display in the seven salons, catering to collectors in categories ranging from fossils to African art, old master drawings to sneakers. The works on display in the Salon can be purchased on site. One of the most valuable items up for sale is a 2.76-carat VS1 fancy vivid pink diamond, which sold for almost HK$42 million ($5.4 million).

But not all the items on display are for sale. The ground floor, which contains three rooms, is dedicated to ambitious museum-quality exhibitions, performances, and the house’s auction preview. The opening of these galleries is the exhibition “Bodhi: Masterpieces of Monumental Buddhist Art,” a somber presentation of Buddhist sculptures that trace the evolution of this particular Asian art form. Two works on loan from the Long Museum in Shanghai, Gerhard Richter’s Iceberg and a Ru-ware brush washer from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD) are also on display to the public, along with Banksy’s acclaimed shredded artworks Girl without balloon.

Luxury spending in China has taken a hit in the past year amid a sharp decline in real estate and capital markets. LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group with 75 brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior in its portfolio, saw sales in Asia excluding Japan fall 13 percent in the first half of the year, according to its earnings report released last week. Meanwhile, Richemont, which owns Cartier, saw sales in the region fall 27 percent year-on-year in the second quarter. But Sotheby’s sees the space as a long-term investment and plans similar stores in New York and Paris.

“Our vision is to create a space that expands curiosity and imagination,” Nicolas Chow, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said in a statement. “From dinosaur fossils to handbags, contemporary design furniture from Africa to Old Master drawings from Italy, rare film posters to Picasso ceramics, Korean contemporary crafts to rare vintage watches, Gothic sculptures to contemporary jewellery designs, ancient Chinese art to rare books and manuscripts, contemporary art to samurai armour, there will be something here to inspire and engage both our existing collectors and new audiences.”

Art lovers and industry professionals who visited the new Maison told Artnet News that they appreciated the opening of the new space and the presentation of the works in an open and friendly way. A food and beverage outlet will open on the first floor of the Maison to make the new space more accessible to a wider audience.

With the launch of a new space, Sotheby’s will have a new sales calendar for Asia. The Hong Kong sales will take place on September 25 and 26, followed by Asian art sales from October 16 to 18. Rival Christie’s will move to its new Asian headquarters in Hong Kong in September and will hold its first sale on September 26.

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