Christie’s Asia chief on new HQ, China’s collector boom

Francis Belin, President of Christie’s Asia-Pacific since 2019, steers from Hong Kong, spearheading the company’s vibrant regional network. Drawing on over two decades in the luxury sector, including high-level roles at Swarovski and Jaeger LeCoultre, and an early career at McKinsey & Co, Belin has been instrumental in driving Christie’s growth post-pandemic. He led a series of record-breaking results: just one being 2021 sales in Asia breaking a staggering US$1 billion – the highest annual total for the region. Belin’s leadership has also been key to guiding Christie’s through a significant expansion with the auction house’s relocation to The Henderson. A new architectural masterpiece by Zaha Hadid Architects in Hong Kong’s business hub, The Henderson opened on September 20 and will host today's (26 September) big name sales of rare Van Gogh and Monet pieces. The new state-of-the-art Hong Kong headquarters is designed to revolutionize art and luxury experiences in Asia, reinforcing the city’s position as a global art market nexus, bridging East and West. Christie’s Hong Kong latest spring season sale achieved US$297 million (HK$2.3billion) helped by a surge in interest from young Asian collectors. Today with two-thirds of its global prestige millennial buyers hailing from Asia, particularly mainland China, Belin reveals how they have engaged a younger, tech-savvy audience. And despite challenges in the global luxury market, the auction house has shown resilience, reinforcing its leading position in a vibrant Asian art market. Jing Daily: Tell us more about the Henderson building and Christie’s new Asia HQ. Francis Belin: We’re very excited to be finally moving in. It’s been in the making for quite some time. The underlying market strength in Asia has been here for years, if not decades, which is why we made the big decision to have our own exhibition spaces so that we can operate an all-year-round program, for different types of exhibitions and client engagement activities. When we signed the lease in 2019, we just wanted the best possible space for Christie’s in Hong Kong. And it’s a very iconic building by Zaha Hadid Architects. It’s a very striking design, right in the heart of Central. And it’s probably the most environmentally friendly building ever built in Hong Kong. We made a big commitment to sustainability here. JD: What does this say about the growth of the Asian and Chinese markets? FB: It first says that Asia has been strong as a collectors’ market, in terms of the participation of Asian collectors in our global salesroom, but also strong in bringing in younger collectors than other regions. For global buying, Asia accounts for 25%, but for young collectors, then you go into 40% to 60%. The last year was particularly high with Asia accounting for 66% of the global millennials buying. How much are they buying at prestige levels? Sixty-six percent was from Asia, and half of that was actually mainland China. So, you have a structurally very active region, where we increasingly see young collectors being active. So, we had to have this new space. JD: With interest in luxury collectibles surging, how does Christie’s tap into the booming demand in Asia, particularly among younger buyers? FB: It’s more in the way we communicate, rather than going into objects that specifically young collectors want to collect. In that sense, we still see ourselves as the primary transactor for the top art, and the top luxury: whether it’s watches, jewelry, wine and spirits or handbags, we always aim to be at the top end of the market, not because we’re exclusive, but because we think that’s what we do best. So we curate sales that are very exciting, with rare and important objects. And when we partner with someone like Jay Chou, we don’t just put his name on a sale, we curate with him an option of artists that actually are part of his world, because he’s a collector, and artists talk to each other, whether you’re musician, actor or chef. So, it was curated with a generation that actually speaks to Jay Chou and his artist’s viewpoint. JD: How has Christie’s adapted its strategy digitally, especially for Chinese clients? FB: There’s a number of opportunities for us to engage with existing collectors or future collectors in China. But we see, really, our digital innovations as a key pillar of engagement with Chinese collectors. We’ve built so much presence digitally, typically in China, with our WeChat mini program (which won a Red Dot Design Award) and Xiaohongshu where our followers reach around 400,000. It’s a long-term game. We made sure we have the right platforms to engage with the Chinese audience. For over 10 years now, we have had a license to operate sales in Shanghai, so we have our 11th year of auctioneering in Shanghai on November 7. That's another platform. It’s been very successful. We have two offices and galleries, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai. JD: We’re in a global luxury downturn, with some fashion houses suffering. Have you also seen a shift in collectible luxury? FB: In the first half of this year, I think 41% of the global luxury spend was Asian. We don’t get to that number without mainland China being strong. As you rightfully highlighted, this distinction between consumption luxury(even if it's high end and expensive) which is suffering from what I read in papers and earning reports, and collectible luxury. When you buy a blue diamond, you know, fancy, vivid, five carats, I don’t think that’s quite “consumption.” I think it’s really collectible, because you know that’s going to retain its value. When you buy a vintage Patek Philippe watch 523, you have, like 25 that were ever made – it’s a very historical object that is passed down. And it’s the same for collectable wine. JD: Have collectors’ tastes changed, as in getting more conservative? FB: I think it’s a global trend, not just a Chinese trend. But you see, if you look at the past seasons, including ours, in May, we saw that the Modern category is up and more robust than the contemporary or 21st century. We really had a very strong spike in the past three years of contemporary and emerging artists of color – it’s been a bit of a correction there. And now everyone is looking back at the more established artists, or the post-war ones and more blue chip, but it’s not just Western art, it’s Asian, too. So, it’s very true. You see the same dynamic in watches. You now continue to see vintage going up … You see a lot of demand for color gemstones, rubies, top-quality ones, pigeon blood rubies. It’s kind of the core blue chip doing well. But you always have this, you have it in all the asset classes, stocks as well – with technology ones going up and down. You’ll continue to see the top items, what is rare, what is historically relevant, regardless of the category, that will always be important for bidding. FB: What role do you see technology, including AI and blockchain, playing in Christie’s future? FB: It’s very important to us. There was our record-breaking $69 million sale of NFT artist Beeple’s work. And we launched Christie’s 3.0, which is an on-chain platform to transact NFTs. We’re bringing AI into parts of our business like translations. I think 10 years ago, art and technology were very separate. There was a very small percentage of bids being placed online. We’ve worked very hard to actually bring the two work together. Last year, in all the sales we had, 80% of the bids that were placed at Christie’s were online bids. For lots of different sales, at a recent jewelry sale, you see people just coming out of nowhere and bidding $5 million for a stone! And even sometimes we ourselves are a bit surprised. We also created Christie’s Venture, an investment fund managed out of the US that invests in companies that are the intersection of art and technology. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. Jing Daily presents Jing Masterminds — a regular, exclusive interview series profiling today’s most iconic names in art, fashion, commerce and culture. Delving deep into their personal journeys, creative processes, business strategies and societal impacts, the series offers readers an intimate look at the lives and minds shaping our industries.

Christie’s Asia chief on new HQ, China’s collector boom

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Published September 26, 2024

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Christie’s Asia chief on new HQ, China’s collector boom