PR87107

PARIS, December 8, 2020, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

The world's two leading auction houses have historically moved neck and neck,

but online sales have allowed Sotheby's to gain a substantial advance over its

rival. For the first 11 months of 2020, Sotheby's, now headed by Patrick Drahi,

has a turnover lead of +40%. Such a wide gap hasn't been seen since 2004.

Global turnover from fine art - Sotheby's vs. Christie's

1 January 2000 - 30 November 2020

Infographic -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1360941/Artmarket_Sothebys_vs_Christies_Infographic.jpg

"The global supremacy of Sotheby's and Christie's on the international art

market should not make us forget that the two houses only handle 6% of the fine

art lots offered at auction," recalls thierry Ehrmann, President and Founder of

Artmarket.com and its Artprice department. "The two houses have however

acquired a virtual monopoly on results above $20 million in the West. Their

rivalry is historic and has been reflected in the closely correlated

development of their respective revenues over the past 30 years."

A correlation that raised eyebrows...

The year 2000 was marked by the end of an 'agreement' between the two

companies, accused by their customers of having engaged in "unfair commercial

practices" by illicitly harmonising their buyers' fees. They both agreed to pay

$256 million each to avoid a damaging trial and Sotheby's separated from its

CEO at the time, Alfred Taubman.

Despite this 'agreement not to agree', the operating incomes of the two

companies continued to progress along very similar curves – although completely

independently due to the 'warning' in 2000 – for another three years.

Sotheby's turnover rose 56% in 2004

Sotheby's 2004 turnover was not only boosted by fetching the very first fine

art result above the $100 million threshold (for Pablo Picasso's Garçon à la

pipe (1905)), but also by hammering 9 of the 10 best fine art results of the

year. This resulted in a global turnover figure 1.5 times higher than

Christie's, despite a slightly lower number of sales.

Sotheby's in 2004: $1.86 billion with 19,950 fine art lots sold in 11 countries

Christie's in 2004: $ 1.19 billion with 21,570 fine art lots sold in 9 countries

Christie's regained the lead for six years...

Between 2013 and 2018 François Pinault's firm managed to beat Sotheby's annual

total  for six consecutive years. Sotheby's reacted with a series of strategic

shifts including stepping up its price guarantee policy and dropping buyer fees

on online sales. However, the NYSE-listed company seemed to be gradually

falling behind.

Then, as rumours circulated about a possible takeover by the Chinese insurer

Taikang (its largest shareholder and owner of Poly Auction), Sotheby's was

acquired by Patrick Drahi, a Franco-Israeli telecoms tycoon. The Covid-19

pandemic was bad news for business for everyone, but Sotheby's was the quickest

to react by intensifying its Online Only sales and by setting up exceptional

closed-door sessions.

The editorial in Le Monde of Friday 4 December 2020 summed it up perfectly:

"Like a time-machine, the health crisis seems resembles a medieval phenomenon,

but in many respects it has projected us into the future. Expert predictions

about the development of a 'dematerialized society' [...] often gave 2025 as

their horizon, but a lot of these predictions have come to pass in less than a

year."

Image:

[https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2020/12/Sothebys-vs-Christies.pn

g]

Copyright 1987-2020 thierry Ehrmann www.artprice.com - www.artmarket.com

- Don't hesitate to contact our Econometrics Department for your requirements

regarding statistics and personalized studies: econometrics@artprice.com

- Try our services (free demo): https://www.artprice.com/demo

- Subscribe to our services: https://www.artprice.com/subscription

About Artmarket:

Artmarket.com is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and

Euroclear: 7478 - Bloomberg: PRC - Reuters: ARTF.

Discover Artmarket and its Artprice department on video:

https://en.artprice.com/video

Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, thierry

Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department is controlled by Groupe Serveur,

created in 1987.

See certified biography in Who's who (c):

https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2019/10/biographie_oct2019_WhosWho_thierryEhrmann.pdf

Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures,

its Artprice department, world leader in the accumulation, management and

exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks

containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than

744,000 artists.

Artprice Images(R) allows unlimited access to the largest Art Market image bank

in the world: no less than 180 million digital images of photographs or

engraved reproductions of artworks from 1700 to the present day, commented by

our art historians.

Artmarket with its Artprice department accumulates data on a permanent basis

from 6300 Auction Houses and produces key Art Market information for the main

press and media agencies (7,200 publications). Its 4.5 million 'members log in'

users have access to ads posted by other members, a network that today

represents the leading Global Standardized Marketplace(R) to buy and sell

artworks at a fixed or bid price (auctions regulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of

Article L 321.3 of France's Commercial Code).

Artmarket with its Artprice department, has been awarded the State label

"Innovative Company" by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) (for the second time

in November 2018 for a new period of 3 years) which is supporting the company

in its project to consolidate its position as a global player in the market art.

Artprice by Artmarket's 2019 Global Art Market Report published in February

2020 :

https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2019

Index of press releases posted by Artmarket with its Artprice department:

http://serveur.serveur.com/press_release/pressreleaseen.htm

Follow all the Art Market news in real time with Artmarket and its Artprice

department on Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom/ (4.9 million followers)

https://twitter.com/artmarketdotcom

https://twitter.com/artpricedotcom

Discover the alchemy and universe of Artmarket and its artprice department

http://web.artprice.com/video headquartered at the famous Organe Contemporary

Art Museum "The Abode of Chaos" (dixit The New York Times):

https://issuu.com/demeureduchaos/docs/demeureduchaos-abodeofchaos-opus-ix-1999-2013

L'Obs - The Museum of the Future: https://youtu.be/29LXBPJrs-o

https://www.facebook.com/la.demeure.du.chaos.theabodeofchaos999

(4.5 million followers)

https://vimeo.com/124643720

Contact Artmarket.com and its Artprice department - Contact: thierry Ehrmann,

ir@artmarket.com

Infographic -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1360941/Artmarket_Sothebys_vs_Christies_Infographic.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1009603/Art_Market_logo.jpg

SOURCE: Artmarket.com