Post-sale logistics and transparency in auction pricing are inevitable areas for investment and focus by auctioneers.
Global art advisory firm Gurr Johns, founded 1914, is acquiring Forum Auctions in order to expand its auction division. The deal is expected to be complete by end of January 2022. Forum, specialists in works on paper, was established in 2016 by art-market entrepreneur Stephan Ludwig.
"This is another example of the consolidation that's taking place in the industry, and which we will see more of in the next two to three years," says Pontus Silfverstolpe, co-founder of Barnebys. "It's about finding synergies and scalability in an industry that's changing to meet the demand of a new generation."
This move will see Gurr Johns become a rounded international auction service. Presently, the company offers art advisory services, appraisals, valuations and art financing services. It also owns auction houses Dreweatts and Bloomsbury, which were acquired in autumn 2017 for £1.25 million.
According to Antiques Trade Gazette, Forum and Dreweatts combined have a sales total of approximately double that of any other regional auction house, with the two firms’ premium inclusive sales close to £50 million for 2021.
The two auction houses will continue to be led by their existing management teams and to operate under their respective brands. Gurr Johns will therefore act as an umbrella group, with a primary focus of growing the digital. Forum, for example, sells almost 100% online (and in 2019 was already selling over 80% of lots online). The art and auction market saw this shift to digital during the pandemic, with those industry players who couldn't – or wouldn't – move online suffering as a consequence.
"Marked change in global art collectors’ appetites and activities has spurred digitalization in the art market revolutionizing the accessibility of artworks to consumers and sellers alike," says Ben Clark, CEO of Gurr Johns.
The shift to digital is also marked by younger consumers' purchase of online auction goods. Ludwig told Barnebys: "We are, to some extent, seeing a reversal of two decades of decline in the market for ‘brown furniture’ as fashion, taste and improved accessibility is making the furnishings and decorations of our parent’s and grandparents’ generations more desirable."
"This welcome resurgence of interest in the life blood of a typical middle-market auction house comes with challenges; the ‘Amazon generation’ rightly anticipates the same click-button purchase and fulfilment service as experienced across the broader online retail market. As such, post-sale logistics and transparency in auction pricing are inevitable areas for investment and focus by auctioneers."
"Much as Pontus has already encapsulated, the ‘middle market’ across the auction industry has been tipped for consolidation for some time. Our transaction reflects a growing momentum to accelerate online scalability and broaden the range of expertise firms can offer their ever growing cohorts of new auction buyers," Ludwig continues.
Ludwig will join the board of Gurr Johns to lead all auction operations, including oversight of Dreweatts. He will work as co-chief executives of the group with Clark.
“Our expanded auction division will offer increasingly innovative and integrated services encouraging shoppers to become collectors across the entire art and collectibles ecosystem,” says Clark.
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