苏富比在华表现不佳，维权投资者强势逼宫

    一家市场表现超过标准普尔指数三倍的公司，为什么会成为维权派投资者攻击的目标？

    乍一看，拍卖公司苏富比（Sotheby's）与对冲基金Third Point之间的较量让人完全摸不着头脑。投资家丹•勒布旗下的对冲基金Third Point持有苏富比9.3%的股份。在最近的一封信中，勒布要求苏富比立即驱逐CEO兼董事长威廉•鲁普雷希特。鲁普雷希特在苏富比任职13年，在此期间，这家公司的收益增加了约75%。苏富比股票今年的涨幅超过了50%。

    然而，尽管取得了这些成功，但花旗集团（Citigroup）奢侈品分析师奥利弗•陈却认为，这家公司原本可以有更好的表现。相比其私营竞争对手佳士得拍卖行（Christie's），苏富比在亚洲市场和当代艺术市场均落于下风。“这些领域更吸引新兴市场的买家，也蕴藏着最大的机遇。”

    近期，苏富比在香港举行了为期五天的拍卖会，共有拍品3,571件，其中中国艺术家曾梵志的一幅油画在周六晚上以2,330万美元成交，创下亚洲当代艺术品拍卖的记录。但纽约咨询公司Artvest的杰夫•拉宾认为，这对于加强苏富比市场地位的作用微乎其微。“佳士得拍卖行在亚洲依然占据主导地位，包括中国的高端与中端市场。”

    拉宾认为，除此之外，苏富比还犯下了一个“关键性错误”，那就是没有重视低端艺术品销售。虽然这家足有269年历史的拍卖行在高端艺术品市场取得了令人瞩目的成绩，比如爱德华•蒙克的作品《呐喊》（The Scream）在去年拍出了1.2亿美元，但它在这个市场的利润却面临着压力。拉宾说：“售价100,000美元的拍品的买家佣金为25%以上；而100,000美元至200万美元之间的拍品，买家佣金则降至20%；200万美元以上的拍品，佣金仅有12%。”

    为了获得著名作品的拍卖权，拍卖行通常会将一部分买方佣金作为回扣支付给卖方，这就是所谓的“加强槌”。拉宾认为，苏富比和佳士得拍卖行在高端市场的竞争如此激烈，利润必然受到挤压。“而在低端市场不存在回扣，拍卖行可以获得全部的佣金。这些业务才是拍卖行在困难时期得以维持的依靠。而苏富比实质上已经放弃了这部分市场。”

    据拉宾表示，苏富比将重心主要放在高端物品拍卖。“这种策略并不成功。”

    拉宾称，苏富比是艺术界历史最悠久、最受尊敬的拍卖行之一，重视低端拍卖并不会贬低它的品牌价值。“声望与苏富比不相上下的佳士得拍卖行就没有这样的问题。关注较为低廉的拍品是吸引新客户的一种很好的策略。有钱人不会一开始就购买最高端的拍品，不论他们多么富有。首先，他们要培养收藏艺术品的品味，比如，首先从150,000美元这个级别开始，逐步提高投资级别。这正是佳士得拍卖行的优势所在：它能满足每一个细分市场的需求。”

    How does a company that outperforms the S&P index by a factor of three become a target for an activist shareholder?

    At first sight, the battle between auction house Sotheby's and Third Point, the hedge fund of financier Daniel Loeb, which has a 9.3% stake in Sotheby's (BID), seems puzzling. In a recent letter, Loeb demanded the immediate ouster of CEO and Chairman William Ruprecht, who in his 13-year reign has grown revenues at Sotheby's by almost 75%. Sotheby's shares are up more than 50% for the year.

    Despite these successes, results could even have been better, says Oliver Chen, luxury analyst at Citigroup. Compared to its privately held competitor Christie's, Sotheby's is lagging behind in Asia and in the contemporary art market. "Those are the places where buyers from emerging markets are gravitating towards, and where the biggest opportunities are."

    Sotheby's recent five-day, 3,571-lot auction in Hong Kong, which scored $23.3 million for an oil painting by Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi on Saturday night, a record for Asian contemporary art, has done little to strengthen its market position, says Jeff Rabin of Artvest, a New York-based advisory firm. "Christie's is still absolutely dominant in Asia, both in the high end and the midlevel of the Chinese sector."

    On top of that, Sotheby's made a "critical error" by not focusing on lower end art sales, says Rabin. While the 269-year old auctioneer has achieved some spectacular results in high-end art, including fetching $120 million for Edvard Munch's "The Scream" last year, margins in this market are under pressure. "A buyer's premium starts at 25% for sales up to $100,000, but drop to 20% for lots between $100,000 and $2 million, to 12% for anything above that," says Rabin.

    To get prestigious works under the auction hammer, houses will often rebate a portion of the buyer's premium back to the seller, a practice known as an "enhanced hammer." Since Sotheby's and Christie's compete so aggressively at the high end of the market, margins are squeezed, says Rabin. "Whereas on the low end, there is no rebating, and auction houses are earning a full commission. That is the kind of business that keeps the lights on in difficult times. It is also a part of market that Sotheby's has virtually abandoned."

    According to Rabin, Sotheby's has focused mainly on high-end properties. "It is a strategy that doesn't work."

    A focus on lower end auctions will not cheapen Sotheby's brand, which is one of the oldest and most respected in the art world, says Rabin. "It didn't for Christie's, which has a sterling name as well. Focusing on cheaper lots is a good way of attracting new customers. Wealthy people don't start buying at the highest end, no matter how much money they have. They will have to develop a taste for collecting art first, for instance by starting at the $150,000 level and moving up from there. That's what makes Christie's so strong: It caters to every segment of the market place."