MEDIA ALERT AUGUST 2015
ONLINE ART SALES: THE NEW FRONTIER FOR EMERGING ART Research carried out for Go Global Art – uniting global cultures through art It is a fact acknowledged that online art sales are on the rise. This year, art market research group ArtTactic and the Hiscox Group reported that the value of the global online art market has risen from just under $1billion in 2013 to an estimated $2.64 billion in 2015. Based on this trajectory, taking into account sites such as Auctionata, Paddle8, 1stdibs, Artspace, Artsy, Artuner, and Artfinder, this report estimates the online art business to be worth $6.3 billion in 2019. Almost half of this year’s respondents had bought art online in the last 12 months, an increase of 38% from 2014, suggesting art’s perception as an increasingly tradable asset online. Auctionata and Paddle8 reported revenue increases of 148% and 146% respectively in 2014, but even more notable is the same growth pattern evident in the case of more traditional organisations. Heritage Auctions, for example, is now one of the most lucrative online auctioneers in the world, reporting online sales of $357 million in 2014. At the same time, the contemporary art market as experienced by the galleries and auction houses is beginning to show its cracks. Despite what have been described as an unprecedented art market in the TEFAF Art Market Report 2014, there is evidence to suggest that it continues to be highly polarized, with a relatively small number of artists, buyers and sellers accounting for a large share of value. In terms of numbers of buyers, the skew would appear very different. Summer auctions in London, the US and Europe were perceived as ‘tepid at best’ and galleries on the streets of London, New York, Paris and Berlin (among other cities similarly affected) are closing in unprecedented numbers, or forced to relocate to areas with cheaper rental. Some of the latest research on the subject comes from Management of Art Galleries, a new book by LSE graduate and German academic Magnus Resch, whose exclusive data – and hypotheses – have garnered both positive and negative attention. The results of the survey, also published in Bloomberg News, exposed a significant disparity between what galleries have been claiming in the fairs and the true situation on the ground. From Resch’s research, it appears that 30% of the galleries actually lost money and the average profit margin was just 6.5%. While some of the claims made by Resch have raised eyebrows (such as that in order to succeed, the distribution percentile should be closer to a 70/30 split in favour of the gallery), there is value in his other determinations, namely the seemingly obvious point: galleries must find and define their unique selling point (USP). With the number of digital platforms rising rapidly, the need for defining, identifying USPs is even more critical in the online space. Here, the range is broad in terms of price range and customer experience. Some sell original artworks, other sell print-on-demand; some require buyers to negotiate directly with artists, while others may set themselves apart by providing assoiciate brokers between buyer and seller. Even auction sites tend to function in a variety of formats, suited to price brackets and specific audience demographics. Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com
MEDIA ALERT AUGUST 2015
Such online platforms have increased significantly in number over recent years, with entrepreneurs moving into the field from a variety of diverse practices. We spoke to serial entrepreneur Andrea Chung about her reasons behind founding art marketing and sales platform Go Global Art: “We have all seen the record-breaking figures at auctions over the past few years, and while there has been significant growth in the art market at the highest end of the price range, usually for art produced by artists working in the art capitals of London and New York, there still wasn’t an easy way for an art lover on a budget to start building a collection of affordable art from different cultures. With the instability of the stock market in recent years, most people are understandably more cautious about investing exclusively in paper, and have been drawn to tangible assets. Emerging art is a tangible asset that can be enjoyed for a lifetime and is also likely to appreciate in value. With Go Global Art, aspiring art collectors now have access to quality emerging art from different cultures with all the background information and speed of purchase that today’s customer has come to expect.” It appears evident that in some cases, especially at the upper end of the price scale, platforms define themselves by expert personalised service. MyArtBroker, for example, sells itself not on the weight of their own in-house expertise, but rather on their unique relationships with key ‘Art Brokers’ in a variety of different art markets, so customers can both buy and sell online supported by the specific expertise of their recommended partner – relying on tusted longstanding relationshipss. “The art world is based in large part on trust and relationships. Porting those two elements online is something that would have been impossible a few years ago, but the best of the online players today have proved that collectors are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a piece of art with the click of a button without ever having touched it before.” Christian Leybold, General Partner, e.ventures. As told in the Art & Finance Report 2014 by Deloitte and ArtTactic At the lower end, for example Ebay and Amazon Art, there are often high volumes of products, and unlike in the case of more personalised concierge services the consumer must be willing to do their own research or rely on information presented before them – which varies significantly from site to site. Go Global Art provides a model that combines the information that one would obtain from a gallery with the ease, mobility and speed of an online shopping experience. This online site aims to improve the customer experience for those purchasing affordable art – making it possible for galleries and artists to reach out to new audiences and communicate with them, while simultaneously offering the necessary information and detailed research to allow buyers to discover artworks and artists that otherwise would be hard to find. The USP is the global and cultural – a clear appeal to those who love travel art and culture – perhaps not necessarily yet art collectors, but appreciators of the arts, be that predominantly in the food, music, literature or contemporary art of any given region. At the time of its launch, July 2015, Go Global Art was already presenting emerging artists from: Argentina, Australia, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Idrael, Jamaica, Kenya and Malaysia. In this model, the buyer has all the prices and information about the artist to make their own decision and can make the purchase instantly. As highlighted in the ArtTactic and Hiscox recent research, the Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com
MEDIA ALERT AUGUST 2015
click-and-buy purchase model is gathering steam in the art market – almost 40% of individuals surveyed had bought art and collectibles through purely online click-and-buy platforms, suggesting that online-only platforms are building brand awareness and trust with art buyers and collectors. Among the 20-30 year olds surveyed who had purchased art online, 22% had never bought from a physical gallery or auction before (versus 10% based on the overall buyer sample), indicating that online platforms play an especially vital role as a destination for first-time buyers among the younger generation. “Technology-driven and online art businesses have a clear potential to support the emergence of an Art & Finance industry, particularly through increased liquidity, lower transaction costs and more transparency. “Although there are reservations concerning the future success of specific business models, the overall market perception is a positive one.” From Art & Finance Report 2014, jointly researched by Deloitte and ArtTactic
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EDITORS NOTES
MEDIA ENQUIRIES For further information on the business or artists, interviews or images please contact Tani Burns: T: 0207 377 5665 M: 07888 731 419 E: tani@goglobalart.com W: www.goglobalart.com
ABOUT THE FOUNDER: ANDREA CHUNG Andrea Chung is an award-winning entrepreneur and, most recently, Founder of Go Global Art, an online platform targeting a new generation of art collectors and delivering affordable contemporary art from countries around the world. Born in Scotland, Andrea has lived and worked in Europe, America and the Caribbean. In addition to working 9-5 as a structural engineer and then as a business executive, she developed a love for entrepreneurship. Over the past ten years, she has started up and successfully operated a bookstore and café, a management consultancy business and a dating service. She is a third-generation businesswoman, following in the footsteps of her grandmother and parents who have all owned businesses in retail, furniture manufacturing, food services, car rental and carpets – a broad spectrum of successful businesses which were an inspiration for her own ventures. Prior to launching Go Global Art in 2014, Andrea worked for Digicel, an Irish telecommunications company Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com
MEDIA ALERT AUGUST 2015
headquartered in Jamaica, where she was responsible for implementing a multi-million dollar business process improvement project which focused on operational efficiencies, streamlining business processes and people development. She was also responsible for the culture, wellbeing and development of over 1000 employees. Furthermore, Andrea worked for over fifteen years in structural engineering and project management, with experience including the design and implementation of various engineering projects in the United States and the development over 90 low-income housing projects in Jamaica.
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS Stanford Graduate School of Business University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Georgia Tech in Atlanta University of Toulon
Executive Education in Finance MA Science in Structural Engineering BA Civil & Environmental Engineering French Business and Economic Language
Professional Engineering License acquired in the United States. Languages: English, Spanish, French
BOARDS Andrea Chung has served on several boards, including: The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) The Public Health Committee, Jamaica The National Land Agency of Jamaica
AWARDS During her career Andrea Chung has been recognised with several awards, including: Minority Engineer of the Year in Florida UNIA Business of the Year (for Bookophilia Jamaica) NCB Nationbuilder Startup of the Year (for Bookophilia Jamaica)
Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com