Phillips will set up a brand new Asia headquarters in Hong Kong’s storied West Kowloon Cultural District within the fall of 2022, placing it near the newly opened M+ museum. The information got here shortly after Phillips reported that it had made $1.2 billion in gross sales over the last yr. That annual determine was a file for the home, and it marked a 32 p.c improve over 2019’s quantity.
In 2021, the home’s auctions generated $993.3 million, a rise of 35 p.c over 2019. Likewise, its personal gross sales channel additionally managed to thrive, whilst folks returned to dwell gross sales. That space of enterprise introduced within the remaining $208.2 million.
The brand new Hong Kong headquarters will put the boutique home, which is owned by Russian retailer Mercury Group, on the middle of one among Asia’s bustling cultural hubs. The public sale home will lease out 48,000 sq. ft within the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Tower, taking up 5 and a half flooring flooring of the 16-story constructing that overlooks the area’s Victoria Harbour. The highest two flooring shall be used as an exhibition area for public sale previews, whereas the remaining three will function retail and workplace area.
West Kowloon’s chief govt officer, Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, stated in an announcement that the addition of Phillips to the realm will start a “long-term collaboration” that may see Phillips contribute to “native, regional and worldwide arts and cultural growth.”
The public sale home, which already has headquarters in New York and London, has seen its consumption from its gross sales in Hong Kong nearly double within the final yr, because it continues to reap income from an ongoing collaboration with China’s Poly Public sale. In Asia, the home bought greater than HKD $2.1 billion ($270 million) in artwork, almost doubling 2020’s determine.
Asian patrons accounted for 36 p.c of spending throughout public sale channels at Phillips globally. Phillips reported that half of the highest ten heaps bought in 2021, went to patrons in Asia. Amongst these heaps had been works by Francis Bacon and Georgia O’Keeffe, two juggernauts on the public sale block.
The file yr signifies that Stephen Brooks, who took over as CEO for Ed Dolman this yr, has up to now led the home to success. In an announcement, Brooks stated he believes the home is poised for even bigger sums in 2022. He known as bolstering Phillips’s presence in Asia a “vital part of our development technique.” In September, the CEO advised ARTnews in April that a part of his long-term plan for the home was to increase the dimensions of night gross sales, which have remained the identical measurement for 5 years, so as to accommodate starvation amongst patrons.