Founded in 1928, MILLON has become France’s leading independent auction house, with sales totalling €94 million in 2023, up 200% on 2020. As part of an ambitious development strategy based on organic and external growth, with the aim of delivering auction passion to as many people as possible, the Group is announcing a 3% increase in profits for the first half of 2024, in an international market that is contracting by 34%. In the summer of 2024, MILLON has acquired Il Ponte Casa d’Aste, a prestigious Italian auction house, with combined sales revenue reaching €130m by the end of 2023, creating a new independent European leader in the auction market, with growth prospects of 70% over 5 years.
On the eve of MILLON’s centenary, its chairman Alexandre Millon has, in the space of twenty years, transformed the firm run by his father, a former chairman of Drouot, into a territory of innovation, encouraging sellers to meet as many potential buyers as possible. Today, MILLON comprises 4 main auction houses in France, Belgium, Vietnam and now Italy, appraisal offices in 35 cities around the world, and millon.com, its digital platform, the 2e most used in France with a 22.8% share of traffic.
A visionary entrepreneur, Alexandre Millon has built a leading economic player that promotes French excellence around the world, thanks to a winning strategy that combines the traditions of the Drouot district, which have been thrilling bidders for nearly a century, with a spirit of perpetual innovation that is both conquering and disruptive.
MILLON holds more than 250 auctions a year. With 49 specialist departments covering 5,000 years of the history of art, design, crafts, and lifestyle, the Blue House is Europe’s leading multispecialist.
Introduction
01. 02. 03. 04.
Interview with Alexandre Millon
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Summary
An independent auction leader in France
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Major international expansion, driving the Group’s organic growth
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Beyond international markets, external growth and horizontal growth to control the entire auction chain
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01. Interview with Alexandre Millon
How does a French family business assert itself in a highly globalised and competitive auction market?
We are always ready to listen to our customers, with whom we have long-term relationships, and we dare to be innovative in a market that is sometimes rigid. Independence gives us the means to dare.
When we talk about innovation, we’re talking first and foremost about seeking to extend the limits of the playing field. Precisely so that we don’t offer the same range as all our competitors. This is how, over the decades, we have expanded the range of objects that can be offered at auction beyond the traditional departments (Asia, Modern and Contemporary Art, Old Masters, etc.). Today, we have the capacity to understand ahead of time which disciplines are reaching the maturity of a second market, such as retro-gaming, which was inaugurated 10 years ago, or sports memorabilia. To achieve this, you need to know how to surround yourself with leading experts and listen to what they have to say, then take the risk of setting up the first sales in the field. That’s what we did when we organised Europe’s first NFT auction, in Belgium in 2020, even though the French market didn’t yet allow it.
Is there a MILLON method?
Never failing to uphold the excellence of tradition, while adopting new practices that broaden the auction audience and optimise the seller’s results. This means, of course, using all the tools available to digitalise auctions, but also setting up CRM campaigns that alert collectors wherever they are in the world when a work by one of their favourite artists comes up for sale. Another example is our ability to create a special setting for an unusual work. The So Unique sales, which we are the only ones to organise in Europe, dedicate a sale to a single work and focus all our marketing efforts on it. This has enabled us to break auction records in a wide range of fields, to the great satisfaction of the sellers.
What role does international expansion play in your strategy, and how do you apply your method?
We continue to follow our 3 objectives: to expand the playing field (beyond our borders), to offer the excitement of auctions to an evergrowing public and to promote the interests of sellers. In practical terms, this means taking the risk of holding auctions where none have existed before, as my father did in 1981 when he created the 1er auction duplex from TienAn-Men Square in China, or arriving ahead of the game in certain markets, as we have been doing since this year in Vietnam, where we have set up the first Western auction house in the country’s history.
What does the future hold for the profession and the sector? How do you see yourself in the next decade?
There is no shortage of projects and challenges. We need to win over new collectors in their thirties who are receptive to the art banking approach, which apparently encourages them to invest 8% of their assets in art, as they sometimes already do in private equity. We need to create synergies between the different geographical markets by managing specific tax constraints, and above all we need to continue to unite our teams around a craftsman’s know-how, in the face of constant competition on a global scale.
Biography of Alexandre Millon
Alexandre Millon, born in Reims (Marne) in 1976, has a degree in art history and a master’s in law from the Sorbonne University in Paris 1. In 2003, at the age of 27, he passed the auctioneer’s exam and became the youngest auctioneer in France.
Alexandre Millon has established a solid reputation as an auctioneer. After gaining experience in the Modern Paintings department of the Canadian auction house IEGOR, the young auctioneer specialised in fire art, sculpture and painting from the 1870s to 1914. He became head of the family firm ROBERT-MILLON in 2003, and held his first auction in Paris on 1 April 2004. Under his leadership, the MILLON group of auction houses has become a major player in the French art market.
Over the past 20 years, Alexandre Millon has also contributed to a number of associations and foundations, organising charity auctions for organisations such as A Wish for Humanity, Institut Curie, Téléthon and Secours Populaire. Alongside this humanitarian commitment, he holds the European record for a contemporary art auction in 2021, with the sale of Unbuttoned Button (1969), a painting by Domenico GNOLI, which fetched over 8 million euros (including buyers’ fees).
In June 2022, the auctioneer also sold the world’s highest auction. Alexandre Millon was climbing the Atlas mountains, at an altitude of 4,167 metres, with a work by Jacques Majorelle hanging from his bag. The money raised by the charity auction went to fund cancer research.
1976
Birth of Alexandre Millon
2003
Alexandre Million becomes the youngest auctioneer in France
2021
Alexandre Million becomes Chairman and CEO of MILLON Alexandre Millon achieves the highest contemporary art auction of the year: Domenico GNOLI, Unbuttoned button, 1969 realises €8,400,000.
2024
Acquisition of Il Ponte Casa d’Aste
Art market highlights
Rapport Art Basel 2023 & Artprice 2022/2023), en USD
World Fine Art auction market: 29 billion
United States: 8.990 billion
France, 4th world market: 2.610 billion Of which 94 million generated by MILLON
10 artists
account for 27% of global earnings
Sales revenue for Jean-Michel Basquiat, the best-selling artist at auction: 235 million
106 400 lots sold each year in France (2nd largest market after the United States)
0.01% of lots sold were worth more than €10 million and represented 23% of the value sold
0.4% of lots sold were worth more than €1 million, representing 32% of the value sold
99% of lots sold worldwide are less than or equal to €1 million and represent 45% of the value sold
02. An independent auction leader in
France
In a profession that has evolved under constraint for centuries, under pressure from the law and from foreign players, we are proud to maintain our economic independence, which is not without risk. Because this independence gives us the freedom to undertake and explore constantly, to get off the beaten track
In order to remain competitive in a constantly changing market, MILLON is deploying its development strategy along 4 strategic lines:
Horizontal growth:
Developing the range of specialities, from the most classic to the most contemporary, with its 49 departments.
Vertical growth:
Taking advantage of all the innovations to control the entire auction chain, from appraisal to delivery, and revolutionising sales formats to encourage exchanges between buyers and sellers.
Organic growth:
Developing MILLON’s expertise thanks to its team of 18 auctioneers and 35 experts, anchoring its positioning between tradition and innovation. The network of 23 correspondents in France and Europe is dedicated to helping all households make the most of their treasures. MILLON also leads meaningful partnerships such as with the Crédit Municipal de Paris: the expertise of MILLON auctioneers helps the CMP to develop the success of its own sales.
External growth:
Bringing the pleasure of auctions to an ever-growing number of buyers and sellers through the strategic acquisition of key players around the world (France Estimations, Il Ponte Casa d’Aste, etc.).
1. GROWTH DIAGRAM
Thanks to its structural and organic choices, and its economic independence in a highly concentrated market, the group has managed to increase its results year after year, through the opening of new departments (Sport, Multiples...), through innovation with new sales formats (duplex sales, So Unique...) and finally through investment in new markets (Italy, Vietnam, etc.).
In 2023, MILLON generated sales of €94 million (including €85.4 million in France and €8.6 million in Belgium), representing growth of 200% compared with 2020. MILLON has thus succeeded in capitalising on years of market growth, but also in absorbing shocks linked to the economic climate, as demonstrated by its first-half growth in 2024, in an international market that is in sharp decline.
2. IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024, ORGANIC GROWTH IN THE FRENCH MARKET DEFIED THE TARDINESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET
While the global Fine Art auction market contracted by 36% in 1st quarter 2024 (vs 2023 according to Artprice), sales in Paris and Nice boosted MILLON’s results, which rose by 3% over the same period.
This result can be attributed to both organic and external growth, a dynamic that is constantly being fuelled by the proliferation of new customer experiences designed to bring auctions to an ever-wider audience.
This momentum is set to continue in the 2nd half-year to 2024 with the acquisition of Il Ponte, the renowned Italian auction house, making the Million Group Europe’s 4th largest auction group.
Millon results - 1st half 2024
45, 400, 000 € in France (excluding solidarity)
including €35,000,000 in Paris (+ 3% vs H1 2023)
and €2,600,000 in Nice (+18% vs H1 2023)
3. THE MOST MULTI-SPECIALIST HOUSE IN EUROPE
With 49 specialities, Millon offers all types of collectors the opportunity to buy and sell their favourite lots at auction.
With 49 specialised departments assisted by independent experts (Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Asian Art, Oriental Art, Antique Paintings, Jewellery, etc.) covering 5,000 years of the history of art, design, crafts and the art of living, the Blue House welcomes all collectors, connoisseurs and bidders.
MILLON’s ambition is to meet the needs of all collectors in fields as varied as art, jewellery, fine wines and spirits, and arms, as well as sport, pop culture, NFT and retrogaming. The company’s speciality is to create a showcase tailored to the treasures of each house, estate or collection, sublimating the most priceless items in the history of art as well as the most emblematic for each family.
Experts in each discipline to guarantee traceability and authenticity
Creating the right setting for the jewels of each home, estate, or collection
Whether it’s a master painting, a piece of design, a collector’s comic book or an item of sports memorabilia, certification by an expert is essential. In order to honour the profession of trusted intermediary and create value at auction, MILLON relies on 35 experts, covering all the group’s specialities and expertise.
Their cachet helps to facilitate sales between buyers and sellers. As a trusted intermediary, the auction house limits the risk to buyers by securing the sale, while maximising the seller’s profit by providing visibility and a unique opportunity to showcase the object to targeted collectors.
These experts, sensitive to market trends and weak signals, enable the company to be a forerunner and to identify new segments reaching maturity, such as Middle-East artists over the last 2 years.
The result of a local approach: helping clients value their property
Expertise as close to home as possible and sell where the market demands
With 18 auctioneers and 23 correspondents throughout France and Europe, MILLON conducts 700 free valuation days each year in more than 35 cities, meeting collectors wherever they are: Barcelona (Spain), Beirut (Lebanon), Brussels (Belgium), Cremona (Italy), Hanoi (Vietnam), Lausanne (Switzerland), Marrakech (Morocco) and Neuilly-sur-Marne (Seine-Saint-Denis).
These meetings are privileged moments when the auctioneer, as a sworn confidant, becomes a trusted advisor for both family and individual projects. This local approach is all the more important in the case of successions or sales of family collections (75 sales a year organised by the Collections and Personalities department).
Innovation at the heart of MILLON
A unique feature of MILLON on the global market, innovation is at the heart of the group’s approach to help sellers meet as many potential buyers as possible.
Duplex sales: a pioneering MILLON invention, enabling simultaneous sales in several emerging markets.
MILLON invented the concept of duplex sales, which the group has been practising for over 35 years. This innovative format enables premium sales to be organised simultaneously and live from two or more locations around the world. It is a formidable tool for gaining knowledge of the art markets, serving buyers and sellers alike.
A unique auction and exhibition format: SO UNIQUE. Intense marketing efforts for a single lot to achieve records
Everyone claims to make made-to-measure, but the real hand-sewn is the SO UNIQUE concept
MILLON’s latest innovation, the SO UNIQUE auction concept, responds to the appetite of new collectors and the growth of the luxury market. These sales, dedicated to a single prestigious lot, regularly break world records (Gnoli, Hicks, Olympic torches, etc.).
MILLON deploys tailor-made communication, marketing and development efforts for a unique lot. The work and its artist are highlighted in an exceptional way.
Ultra-connected online and physical sales
With millon.com, France’s second-largest auction website (1 million users in the first half of 2024, generating more than 13.6 million SEO impressions, figures from June 2024), MILLON combines physical and online sales to meet the expectations of a new customer base.
In 2021, the group made history by organising the first European NFT sale at MILLON Belgium, while also being the first auction house to offer traceability of works of art via blockchain, in partnership with Arteïa since 2024.
This innovative approach is accompanied by an ambitious SEO strategy aimed at positioning the company’s sales among the top search results for the most relevant keywords in each local market. At the same time, MILLON deploys cutting-edge CRM tools, digital marketing campaigns and customised newsletters.
The Group’s hybrid strategy, which combines physical proximity with a stronger digital presence, is supported by complementary services such as delivery and storage, creating a complete, connected customer experience.
03. Major international expansion, driving the Group’s organic growth
From its historic headquarters in the heart of the Drouot district, MILLON has been expanding its international footprint over the past two decades to share its passion for auctions.
1. ITALY
The acquisition of Il Ponte Casa d’Aste meets our objective of offering a wide range of specialities (horizontality) and a variety of adapted sales formats (verticality) to two complementary customer files, with the idea that «1+1=3». To be similar without being the same, because there is no duplication of audiences between our two companies.
Alexandre Millon
MILLON has strengthened its international expansion in Italy with the acquisition of Il Ponte Casa D’Aste in the summer of 2024, coinciding with the Italian auction house’s 50th anniversary. Founded in 1974, Il Ponte Casa d’Aste is one of Italy’s leading auction houses, with twenty specialist departments. In their respective territories, the two family-run houses combine tradition and innovation in the same spirit of excellence for their customers.
Their combined results, which reach €130m by the end of 2023 and are expected to grow by 70% in 5 years, create a new independent European leader in the auction market. The many synergies that will be implemented by the departments of both entities will provide a solid foundation for the group’s global expansion.
The variety and volume of sales (300 annual sales for a total of nearly 90,000 lots) create a new European leader for Fine Art, with legally guaranteed works. This development will allow for the exchange of skills in the various areas of expertise, notably through the proximity of the Italian company to MILLON Riviera (based in Nice).
2. VIETNAM
Already holding 3 auctions a year specialising in Vietnamese Art, and 10 auctions a year dedicated to Asian Art, MILLON is continuing its drive to become Europe’s leading player in this speciality by opening the first Western auction house in Vietnam in January 2024.
The first two Hanoi-Paris duplex sales have already broken records for Vietnamese artists (€500,000 for a work by the artist Le Pho, the highest bid for the current year, 2024, and a world record for the artist Tran Phuc Duyen €380,000). The synergy created between the two continents means that Vietnamese and French collectors can access the very best in Vietnamese art at the same time.
3. BELGIUM
Active since 2005, MILLON Belgique is the first Franco-Belgian auction house and the European leader in comic strip sales. With its dynamic team, MILLON Belgium is a privileged intermediary for people wishing to sell and collectors from all horizons wishing to buy. In addition to 9e art, its flagship areas are design, painting and jewellery. MILLON Belgium organises 12 to 15 catalogued sales per year, in addition to its online sales. MILLON Belgium is an important player within the group, which will see its structure thoroughly renewed in 2024, marking the parent company’s attachment to this geographical area.
3. D. LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS: LEBANON, SWITZERLAND,
Local partnerships play a key role in MILLON’s international expansion strategy. The Italian adventure, initiated by a local partnership and duplex sales, serves as a model for future expansion in Central and Southern Europe. These partnerships allow MILLON to gain initial expertise in local markets before fully integrating these new territories, guaranteeing organic growth while limiting risk.
04. Beyond international markets, external growth and horizontal growth to control the entire auction chain
1. AN EXAMPLE OF EXTERNAL GROWTH:
Acquisition of France Estimations, a European leader in online estimates
In 2023, Millon took a further step in its external growth strategy by acquiring France Estimations, a European leader in online appraisals. This union aims to strengthen the links between holders of works of art and potential buyers by offering simplified access to quality valuation services. France Estimations’ 6,000 monthly estimates, coupled with 700 valuation days each year, make Millon the 1er French valuation network. By integrating these services, the group is reinforcing its dense and efficient territorial coverage, creating an accessible and reliable network of appraisers. This network facilitates contact with experts and speeds up the process of putting objects up for sale, thereby removing a brake on the art market. In addition, MILLON completes its human network of correspondents by strengthening its digital presence, transforming online estimates into a secure and professional service.
2. AN EXAMPLE OF HORIZONTAL GROWTH:
The opening of a house in Seine Saint-Denis to adapt auctions to a wide range of lots, sellers and buyers
Continuing its vertical strategy, MILLON is adapting its services to local needs with the opening of a new home in Seine-Saint-Denis, located at the heart of its monumental 4,000 m² storage space in Neuilly-sur-Marne. This new space is specifically dedicated to small lots, offering buyers of all budgets the opportunity to acquire unique works at attractive prices, ideal for interior decoration or original gifts. La Maison offers weekly sales, both specialised (Asia, Art Deco and Design, Primitive Art) and general, with formats adjusted to the value of the objects. Designed as a local venue, and as in all MILLON auction houses, MILLON offers a local public the opportunity to request inventories and valuations free of charge from a team of experts and auctioneers throughout the year, thereby enhancing the accessibility and conviviality of auctions.
Brassaï auction:
€206,597 (including costs) for «Graffiti I» (collage on cardboard), Brassaï (world record)
Alexandre Million devient
Président-Directeur
Général de MILLON
Madeleine Meunier estate:
€2,295,078 (including fees) for the «Luba-Shankadi» headrest
The
highest
sale in the world
2022, Alexandre Millon held the world’s highest auction: at the top of the Atlas mountains, at an altitude of 4,167 metres, he awarded a sale for a work by Jacques Majorelle.
sale of part of the Philippe Dotremont collection: €2,164,000 (including fees) for «Untitled Monogold, (MG 26)» (1928-1962), Yves Klein
The Gnoli sale:
€6,600,000 (including fees) for «Unbuttoned button» (1969), Domenico GNOLI
