Auction house UnderpinHe would have closed his electronic commerce activities to buy now in continental China, although it continues this company in Hong Kong.
THE The Buy now program was Close in China in recent months in the middle of a slowdown in demand on this marketThe Financial Times (FT) reported Sunday (February 2).
Sotheby’s also dismissed a number of employees,, While retaining key staff in consulting rolesaccording to the report.
Sotheby’s launched the Buy Now program, which offers fine arts and online luxury products in Hong Kong in 2022 and extended it to mainland China in the first half of 2023according to the report.
The auction house has declared to the FT, according to the report, that China remains a “key market for art and luxury”, that the offices of Sotheby’s Beijing and Shanghai are open and active, and that the company is now focusing on customer relations.
Sotheby is also closed on Office in Bangkok, according to the report.
Major Auctions like Sotheby’s launched online platforms to make sales during the pandemic and has Call to customers who were New on fine arts and luxury marketsaccording to the report.
Buy Now’s judgment is part of a wider retirement that has seen the world auctions of Sotheby saw The company began to conference with around 50 employees in its London office in the first half of 2024, according to the report.
Sotheby’s introduced a buy now functionality in September 2021 – six months after the start of the pandemic – in the midst of an increase of 600% of the value of Online auctionsPymnts reported at the time.
The purchase now allows people to go online and buy collectibles on the Sotheby’s market, without having to wait for an auction.
About three -quarters of customers who made transactions via Buy now shortly after its introduction were new to Sotheby.
It was reported in June that luxury brands In China, resorting to “unprecedented” discounts to sell unsold stocks and attract cautious consumers in the middle China economic slowdown.
The Chinese middle class, a key segment of the luxury market, was become more frugal and cautious in their expenses.