佳士得CEO:中国艺术品市场潜力巨大

Shelley DuBois | 2013-04-12 12:56

斯蒂文•墨菲说，中国艺术品交易增速惊人。同时，欧美地区有过的各种发展趋势同样会出现在中国，但是在影响的量级上需要在后面多加两个零。有鉴于此，进军中国将是佳士得1970年进驻纽约以来最重要的扩张举措。

任何一个跨国公司的CEO展望未来时总离不开两大核心目标，即适应数字化不断普及的世界以及向中国等成长型市场扩张。佳士得拍卖行（Christie）CEO斯蒂文•墨菲宣布，已拥有247年历史的佳士得公司成为首家在中国这个人口最多的国家独立开展拍卖业务的国际拍卖行，同时计划于今年秋季在上海举行首场在华拍卖会。

自从墨菲2010年出任佳士得CEO以来，他就一直在思考进入中国市场。此外，墨菲认为，互联网能给这家历史悠久的拍卖行带来新的活力。在接受《财富》杂志（Fortune）的独家访谈时，他谈到公司进入中国这个全球艺术品最大的交易市场之一的影响以及库房员工的电话如何让他感到自己的工作精彩纷呈。

《财富》：佳士得拍卖行进入中国似乎引起了不少关注，请问这有什么深远意义？

斯蒂文•墨菲：这是一个巨变。互联网的出现无疑将让拍卖行如虎添翼，其影响之深远堪比当年的电话。进军中国市场是佳士得自1970年进驻纽约以来最重要的扩张之举。

问：听上去的确意义非凡。我们先谈谈中国市场吧。从数据的角度说，中国市场最具吸引力的方面是什么？

答：首先，中国艺术品交易额已占全球市场的25%左右，仅次于美国。而这一切仅用了十年不到的时间，这样的增长速度非常惊人。第二，我认为在欧美地区有过的各种发展趋势，也同样会出现在中国，但是在影响的量级上需要在后面多加几个零。

问：你关注的艺术品拍卖趋势有哪些？

答：如今文化氛围浓厚，通过互联网技术，人们越来越倾向于拥有艺术品、与艺术相伴的情感体验。互联网技术可以让全世界的拍卖品信息唾手可得，还有各种高清图像可供查看。如果我们的客户在上海，如今他可以马上坐出租车到我们公司亲眼鉴赏拍卖品。与此同时，我们在洛杉矶的客户也可以通过我们的iPad应用程序点击观看拍卖品。这也让我们的买家兴趣激增。

问：它是否意味着艺术品拍卖行未来的经营格局将是传统的现场拍卖加上网络竞拍呢？

答：我认为目前这种情况已经存在了。我们目前考虑的问题不是这样好不好，而是能否快速推进网站平台的建设。但它并不意味着我们会摒弃现场拍卖，但是我们有30%的客户竞标来自网络。

问：既然在线拍卖交易数量增长如此迅速，为什么还要在中国营建现场拍卖行呢？

答：众所周知，我们已经接触到中国大陆客户。但是佳士得不仅仅是一个品牌，还是专业知识和专业人员的象征。进入佳士得拍卖行，亲身体验佳士得的专业服务是在线竞拍无法取代的。

问：你三年前进入佳士得公司的时候，是否一开始就将进入中国市场列为你工作的重中之重？

答：没错。像每个进入新岗位给自己列个工作计划表的人一样，我也给自己列了五大关键目标。其中有三项，我觉得都非常重要。那天下午，我和我的团队一起讨论，研究制定如何稳妥地入驻中国大陆的计划就是其中的首要目标之一。

问：要达到你的目标，需要公司管理层在哪些方面提供支持？

For any global CEO looking to the future, two main objectives are coping with the increasingly digital world and expanding into growing markets, namely China. Steven Murphy, the CEO of art auction house Christie's announced that the 247-year-old company will open the first independently operated fine-art auction house in the world's most populated country. Christie's will hold its first China-based auction this fall in Shanghai.

Since Murphy took the CEO gig in 2010, China has taken up a tremendous amount of his brain space. So has the Internet, which Murphy believes could breathe new life into old auction houses. In this exclusive interview, he talks to Fortune about the impact of accessing one of the world's biggest art markets and how phone calls from Christie's warehouse workers make his job awesome.

Fortune: Christie's in China seems like big news, but what does it mean?

Steven Murphy: It's a huge change. The Internet is the best thing to happen to auctions since the telephone. Our opening a proper Christie's edifice in China is the most important thing to happen for our expansion since our arrival in NYC in 1970.

Okay, there's a lot there. I'm going to start with China. What is the most compelling data about this market?

Well, for one, it's grown to become about 25% of the global art market, which puts it just behind the U.S., and that growth happened in less than ten years. So that's pretty extraordinary. Two, I believe that like everything else that happens in China, any trend is like a trend in America or Europe, but you have to add a couple of zeros to the impact.

What art auction trends are you watching?

There has been a huge cultural drive to experience the emotional content of owning and living with art, combined with the facility online. The Internet is making the knowledge of what's available accessible, instantly, around the world, in HD imagery. If you're sitting in Shanghai, you'll now be able to take a taxi to our offices and see the works in person. If you're sitting in Los Angeles, you'll see them on our iPad app at the same moment. That's why there's been so much of a surge in buying interest.

Does that mean that art auction houses of the future will need brick-and-mortar expertise combined with online capabilities?

I believe it's a condition that already exists. It's a matter of building the capability fast enough, not a matter of whether it's a good idea. That doesn't mean that we're not doing live auctions, but 30% of our bids in the auction business came online.

If online is growing so much, why was it imperative to build a physical space in China?

You know, we have access to Chinese mainland clients now, but there's nothing that replaces being in-person and having an edifice that represents Christie's -- not just the brand, but the people and the expertise.

You joined the company about three years ago. Was getting into China on your to-do list from day one?

Yeah. Like every other new guy in a new job, I had a list of five key objectives, and three of them were number one. So depending upon the afternoon, working with a team to come up with the right plan for respectful and proper presence in Chinese mainland was number one.

What kind of administrative support did you need to get there?

答：关于这点，我很幸运，公司股东们给予了大力支持。从一开始，股东们就鼓励佳士得的员工把客户和艺术品放在首位，在此基础上寻求业绩增长，这本身就是一种冒险。大家都知道，进军中国市场非常让人兴奋，但同时，这也是一笔不小的投资。同样的，如果我们今年要在网上完成50起拍卖，那么我们也需要在幕后投入大量的人力物力，来建立一个电子商务平台，从而确保满足这种需求的增长。

问：相对上市公司而言，这类长期投资是否在未上市的私人公司里更容易实行一些？

答：这要看情况。如果老板开明，那么在私人公司进行这样的投资就能很顺利。而我们公司恰好是这样。

问：有开明的老板感觉一定非常好，听上去你的工作很有意思。能谈谈你最喜欢的艺术品吗？

答：你的这个问题我很难回答，因为每隔一段时间，我的选择都会变化，不过欣赏艺术品是我工作最美妙的部分。当我还是小伙子的时候，我就是约翰•辛格•沙金的粉丝。一天，美国画作（American Pictures）部门的专家告诉我说：“新来了一幅沙金的肖像作品，就在楼下，来看看吧。”我当时别提有多高兴了。捧起肖像画的时候真是激动万分。

另外，在我进入佳士得的第三天，我后来熟识的一位库房工作人员打电话给我说：“斯蒂文，快下楼来看看，有个古罗马头盔入库了，来戴一下试试！”

鉴赏这些手工艺术品，感受和欣赏艺术的美，是我工作中最美妙的部分。（财富中文网）

Well, I've been blessed with owners that, from day one, have encouraged all of us at Christie's to take risks that put the client and the art first and grow the business. As you know well, I'm sure, expanding in China is exciting but does not come at small capital cost. Likewise, if we're doing 50 online auctions this year, there's been quite a heavy effort and investment behind the curtain to build an e-commerce platform to satisfy the growth.

Is it easier to get those kinds of long-term investments at a private company rather than a public one?

It depends. It's great to be in a private company as long as you have an enlightened ownership, and that we do.

Enlightened ownership must be nice. Your job sounds fun. Do you have a favorite piece of art?

It's a really hard question to answer -- though it's the coolest part of my job -- because it changes every few days. Since I was a very young lad, I've been a fan of John Singer Sargent. So to have a specialist from the American Pictures department say, "We have a Sargent portrait downstairs, come see it," and to be able to hold it in my hand was pretty exciting.

Also, my third day at Christie's, one of the gentlemen who works in the warehouse, who I've gotten to know, calls me and says, "Steve! We've got a Roman helmet, come downstairs and put it on your head!"

That's the best part of the job. It's really about appreciating the beauty and the range of all these things that were crafted by the hand of man.

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