Innovating and managing change: the challenges of Phillips' new CEO Martin Wilson
The answer to the change of generation in collecting: the success of priority offers in September and the strength of the interaction between art and luxury
The start of Art Week in London marks the beginning of a crucial period for the market, culminating with the New York auctions in mid-November. For Martin Wilson it also represents the milestone of his first year at the helm of the Phillips auction house, a position he achieved at the end of 2024 after a long career at the helm of legal services at Phillips and previously Christie's. We took the opportunity of the presentation of the works in the auction on 16 and 18 October at the prestigious Mayfair venue to take stock of the market and the future of the auction house.
How do you see the role of auction houses and Phillips, in particular, in this period of uncertainty and volatility?
With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, I know that cycles of market expansion and contraction are physiological and inevitable. The market is set to grow again, but in a different form than the previous cycle. I am interested in focusing our attention on the real challenge of the present and near future: managing the generational change between collectors as they have experienced it so far and the new generation that has entered the market in the last decade and will increasingly do so in their own way, necessarily different from the past. Phillips is a strong brand that is well positioned to speak to both generations, from mature high-end collectors to newcomers, thanks also to the transfer of wealth between generations that is already underway and will characterise the coming years. We need to be able to guarantee a unique buying experience, going along with the change in taste that is reflected above all in the contemporary
About innovation, can you explain your new system of advance offers? What results has it brought in this experimental phase?
Tramite l’offerta prioritaria anticipata introdotta da Phillips quest’anno, si offre all’acquirente una strategia alternativa che premia l’impegno precoce, tramite un’offerta prima che inizi l’asta al prezzo minimo d’acquisto, ricevendo in cambio uno sconto sulle commissioni. L’acquirente può anche rilanciare nel corso dell’asta mantenendo lo sconto maturato. Così facendo la casa d’aste può concentrarsi sui lotti che necessitano di maggior attenzione non avendo ricevuto tali offerte, mentre il venditore è incentivato a consegnare perché incrementano le sue possibilità di realizzo diminuendo il rischio di sorprese negative, vendendo prima ancora che l’asta inizi. Il feedback è al momento non solo positivo, ma superiore alle nostre aspettative. Il catalogo delle edizioni a settembre, quando abbiamo introdotto lo schema, ha visto un aumento del 40% delle vendite con offerte anticipate per lotto, rispetto al catalogo di giugno. Il generale i dati relativi ai cataloghi di settembre di
