Ethical Issues at Christie's
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Case Details:
Case Code : BECG060
Case Length : 15 Pages
Period : 2000 - 2005
Pub. Date : 2006
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : Christie's Inc.
Industry : Auctioning
Countries : United Kingdom, USA
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This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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About Christie's
James Christie (James), the founder of Christie's, conducted his first auction sale, in 1766. James, who resigned from a Navy commission to take up auctioneering, was recognized as a pioneer in transforming auctioneering into a sophisticated art.
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Christie's conducted some of the greatest auctions of the 18th and 19th centuries; notable among them was the sale of Sir Robert Walpole's collection of paintings (which later became the Hermitage Museum Collection in St.Petersburg, Russia), for which the firm negotiated with Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.
Christie's auctions have always been major attractions for London's elite. In 1973, Christie's became a public company and was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
After going public, the auction house expanded beyond British shores. In 1977, Christie's opened its first salesroom in New York.
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The 1980s saw the reputation and prosperity of the auction house reach new heights. Along with arch rival Sotheby's, Christie's dominated the top-end5 of the fine arts market, reportedly cornering 90% of the business (Refer Exhibit II for a note on some Auction Houses).
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Christie's collected a commission from buyers called the 'buyer's premium'. In the early 1990s, stiff competition from Sotheby's was driving commissions southward. Also, the firm increasingly had to offer guaranties6 to the sellers.
The competition for prize collections and new pieces was immensely tough in the top-end of the fine arts market and it led to margins becoming wafer-thin. Even in the mid-end7 market, Christie's and Sotheby's were facing new competition from net-based auction houses like eBay. The net-based auctioneers charged only the seller. And the seller's commissions charged by them were much lower than Christie's commissions... |
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