The brand will embark on a new kind of selling in Hong Kong tomorrow, with its first retail outlet, stocking anything from collectable trainers to dinosaur fossils, with prices starting at several hundred dollars.
Luxury spending has fallen in China, as the country’s economy struggles with a downturn in property and capital markets, eating into the sales of companies such as LVMH. But Sotheby’s said it was confident in Chinese spending for the long term.
The company’s new space in Hong Kong’s Central financial district will display hundreds of objects. Apart from paintings and other pieces of art typically associated with auction houses, they include books, furniture, Nike x Louis Vuitton crossover sneakers and dinosaur fossils.
The retail section will occupy one floor of Sotheby’s new 24,000sq ft premises, while another floor will be for exhibitions. Sotheby’s said it plans to open similar outlets in New York and Paris in the coming months, following on from its pioneering outlet in Hong Kong.
