The Role of Art & Antique Dealers An Added Value
An important observation in connection with the trend to older workers is that dealers in many sectors noted that they did not see the next generation coming up behind them, and signalled difficulties in relation to amassing inventory and the high costs to set up a business as deterrents for younger dealers entering the profession. This appears to be particularly relevant in antiques and some older fine art sectors, with most of the newer and younger dealers coming on board in the newer markets such as Contemporary fine art and design. Some commented that the attraction of these newer sectors of the market, besides more available supply of works, may be that the requirement for historical scholarship is less in some cases, and as such they offer easier entry at a younger age level.
On a positive note, it was agreed that younger dealers were often more up to date and comfortable with technology, web marketing, social media and other communication methods that are becoming more important for some businesses. (The importance of technology and the online channel in the art and antiques market is discussed in Chapter 4).
The age demographic indicates two key issues regarding dealers:
i. Some sectors of the trade appear to be “aging out”. An older demographic and lack of new dealers following in their footsteps implies that some sectors of the market may see a contraction in the number of businesses in future. The costs of inventory, setting up and running a business, plus the difficult task of building close personal contacts in the trade have proved to be significant barriers to entry in some sectors. Some older dealers called themselves “fortunate” regarding their timing of entry (or “beneficiaries of an historical accident”), starting out at a time when it was easier to buy low, for example purchasing antiques in the post war period. However, the context today and for future start-ups is significantly different, with high costs and shortage of supply in some sectors.
ii. There is significant longevity in many dealer businesses. While examples of extant galleries from the 19th
century are not that common7 , there are many art and antiques businesses that
have lasted over long periods of time, albeit with changes in structure, premises and content. By comparison, according to research carried out in the US, while around 66% of small firms survive their first two years, only 44% make it past their fourth year in business, and just 31% past year seven.8
While there has been some publicity about the speed at which some galleries
open and close, the fact that on average dealers are in business over 30 years implies substantial longevity in both an absolute sense and relative to small businesses in general.
Art and antique dealing was most commonly a family business in the past, but this is diminishing somewhat over time.
Around one quarter of the dealers interviewed were family businesses, with some for multiple generations. Transfer of the business within a family framework was identified as key means to
Historical & Future Perspectives 21
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