The Role of Art & Antique Dealers An Added Value
Another trend related to specialisation is evident within dealer careers: many reported starting out with a broader range of interests and then specialising in one or few areas of the market after having been in business for several years, or alternatively moving into the higher value end of a particular sector. This again indicates that specialisation can be a financially rewarding strategy. Finally, there were a small number of highly successful cases of businesses being split into specialties within the one company. In the antiques trade for example, some companies divided into “high-end/ high- quality” versus “low-end/ accessible”, with distinct brands and premises for each segment. This allowed greater price discrimination based on incomes, knowledge and preferences, as well as allowing dealers to nurture long-term relationships with collectors, with the lower price points attracting younger collectors who could be stimulated to move up the value chain over time.
A small number of dealers claimed that they had picked sectors to concentrate on strategically over time by analysing which parts of the market were undervalued or looking at buyer clusters. They all added, however, that this was a very difficult strategy to engage in rapidly in the art market due to the requirements for expertise and developing networks of contacts. Dealers had some success following this strategy through engaging with partners and sharing knowledge and contacts. It is important to note that for all dealers, the strategy pursued with regard to specialisation is highly dependent on available supply in the market: dealers can only focus on sectors or works that are available to them or that they can add value to. Supply therefore determines how many dealers organise their businesses, where and how they invest and their time horizons for buying and selling.
Views were mixed regarding the future of the trade in terms of specialisation. Some argued the trend observed over the last 50 years seems likely to continue, and the market will become more polarised in terms of the high and low end of different sectors. This was also questioned by some observers who felt that the shortage of supply, along with changing demand from new buyers around the world, would force dealers to broaden their interests in order to survive.
Figure 1. Dealer Specialisation and Risk Market Size
Risk
Specialisation
Time © Arts Economics 2011 Historical & Future Perspectives 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64