In an hourlong presentation to reporters this morning, Sotheby’s offered an upbeat take on its lackluster 2024 results, which saw total global sales fall a whopping 23 percent, to $6 billion, from $7.8 billion in 2023.
The decline is not a surprise, amid a challenging international economy and a contraction in the art and luxury sectors. In a statement, Sotheby’s touted its $6 billion consolidated sales figure as the “highest in the industry.”
Last month, its archrival, Christie’s, reported that its 2024 sales totaled $5.7 billion, a 6-percent drop from the $6.1 billion it reported for 2023.
Sotheby’s auction sales were down 28 percent, to $4.6 billion, from $6.4 billion, but private sales were up 17 percent, climbing from $1.2 billion in 2023 to $1.4 billion. Christie’s, for its part, reported a 41-percent jump in private sales, to $1.5 billion—their highest level since 2020.
In a statement, Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart said that the house “invested in ways that hold real promise for the year ahead,” with “spectacular venues around the world,” a reference to new spaces that it opened in Hong Kong and Paris.
Last summer, Sotheby’s opened a 24,000-square-foot retail and exhibition space in Hong Kong’s Central district in an effort to draw luxury buyers, despite a decline in China’s buying appetite. Hundreds of objects, from artworks to dinosaur fossils, have been available there for immediate purchase, at prices ranging from HK$5,000 to HK$50 million ($640 to $6.4 million).
In October, even as debt woes continued to weigh on the firm, Sotheby’s unveiled a new Paris headquarters in the city’s Matignon Saint-Honoré district, where a growing number of blue-chip galleries have alighted. In December, Sotheby’s eliminated more than 100 jobs around the world.
Seeking new clients and capital, Sotheby’s has been looking to the Middle East. Last summer, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, acquired a minority stake in the auction house. The agreement will see ADQ and Sotheby’s majority shareholder Patrick Drahi invest some $1 billion in the firm.
