佳士得CEO:中國藝術品市場潛力巨大
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????任何一個跨國公司的CEO展望未來時總離不開兩大核心目標，即適應數字化不斷普及的世界以及向中國等成長型市場擴張。佳士得拍賣行（Christie）CEO斯蒂文?墨菲宣布，已擁有247年歷史的佳士得公司成為首家在中國這個人口最多的國家獨立開展拍賣業務的國際拍賣行，同時計劃于今年秋季在上海舉行首場在華拍賣會。 ????自從墨菲2010年出任佳士得CEO以來，他就一直在思考進入中國市場。此外，墨菲認為，互聯網能給這家歷史悠久的拍賣行帶來新的活力。在接受《財富》雜志（Fortune）的獨家訪談時，他談到公司進入中國這個全球藝術品最大的交易市場之一的影響以及庫房員工的電話如何讓他感到自己的工作精彩紛呈。 ????《財富》：佳士得拍賣行進入中國似乎引起了不少關注，請問這有什么深遠意義？ ????斯蒂文?墨菲：這是一個巨變。互聯網的出現無疑將讓拍賣行如虎添翼，其影響之深遠堪比當年的電話。進軍中國市場是佳士得自1970年進駐紐約以來最重要的擴張之舉。 ????問：聽上去的確意義非凡。我們先談談中國市場吧。從數據的角度說，中國市場最具吸引力的方面是什么？ ????答：首先，中國藝術品交易額已占全球市場的25%左右，僅次于美國。而這一切僅用了十年不到的時間，這樣的增長速度非常驚人。第二，我認為在歐美地區有過的各種發展趨勢，也同樣會出現在中國，但是在影響的量級上需要在后面多加幾個零。 ????問：你關注的藝術品拍賣趨勢有哪些？ ????答：如今文化氛圍濃厚，通過互聯網技術，人們越來越傾向于擁有藝術品、與藝術相伴的情感體驗。互聯網技術可以讓全世界的拍賣品信息唾手可得，還有各種高清圖像可供查看。如果我們的客戶在上海，如今他可以馬上坐出租車到我們公司親眼鑒賞拍賣品。與此同時，我們在洛杉磯的客戶也可以通過我們的iPad應用程序點擊觀看拍賣品。這也讓我們的買家興趣激增。 ????問：它是否意味著藝術品拍賣行未來的經營格局將是傳統的現場拍賣加上網絡競拍呢？ ????答：我認為目前這種情況已經存在了。我們目前考慮的問題不是這樣好不好，而是能否快速推進網站平臺的建設。但它并不意味著我們會摒棄現場拍賣，但是我們有30%的客戶競標來自網絡。 ????問：既然在線拍賣交易數量增長如此迅速，為什么還要在中國營建現場拍賣行呢？ ????答：眾所周知，我們已經接觸到中國大陸客戶。但是佳士得不僅僅是一個品牌，還是專業知識和專業人員的象征。進入佳士得拍賣行，親身體驗佳士得的專業服務是在線競拍無法取代的。 ????問：你三年前進入佳士得公司的時候，是否一開始就將進入中國市場列為你工作的重中之重？ ????答：沒錯。像每個進入新崗位給自己列個工作計劃表的人一樣，我也給自己列了五大關鍵目標。其中有三項，我覺得都非常重要。那天下午，我和我的團隊一起討論，研究制定如何穩妥地入駐中國大陸的計劃就是其中的首要目標之一。 ????問：要達到你的目標，需要公司管理層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? |
