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Strauss & Co 2019 digital journey pays dividends in a changing business landscape

17 Apr 2020

“We had our first online auction in November 2013,” said Kilbourn, adding that in the ensuing period Strauss & Co specialists had catalogued over 16 000 works offered through the 35 online auctions. “We sold 63% of those lots. In our first online sales the average prices were low, but there has been a significant adoption of the platform and a corresponding increase in the average price.”

Growing confidence among collectors saw 565 buyers register to bid. Of the 215 buyers, the majority were new (62%) and most were aged between 40 and 59 years. South Africans constituted the largest grouping of buyers, followed by collectors in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. Per lot bidding was also healthy, with some paintings, Chinese objets and fine wines generating fiercely competitive bidding.

The online sale was split into seven sessions across the various categories. A session devoted to wine achieved a 96.39% lot sell-through rate, with 80 of the 83 lots offered sold. The combined lot sell-through rate for the entire sale was a creditable 72% (inclusive of aftersales).

Diederick Düring, a protégé of Maurice Van Essche, was the unexpected star of the sale. His lyrical study of solitude and enterprise, Fisherman Mending Nets, was the top-selling lot, achieving R102 420. Best known for his enigmatic style of cubist painting, The Miners was a fine example in this style and fetched R79 660, also doubling the high estimate. J.E.A. Volschenk is a canonical figure in South African landscape painting and his tranquil depiction of Still Bay, Riversdale, painted in 1914 sold for R85 350, also above estimate.

Decorative arts specialist Sophie-Louise Fröhlich expressed her delight in the solid performance of a number of Chinese lots offered. An oval bamboo brushpot with carved depictions of two figures on horseback sold for seven times the high estimate, achieving R73 970. Two Republican-period snuff bottles performed similarly well, each fetching R 56 900, also well above estimate.

Jewellery and Objects of Vertu realised a total of R511 500. 63 of the 87 lots sold, achieving a 72.5% sell through rate.

But the virtual laurel went to the wine session, a collaborative venture between Strauss & Co, sommelier Higgo Jacobs and Roland Peens of Wine Cellar. The strategic goal of this partnership, launched in 2019, was to support and highlight the artistry of local winemaking. The data for the latest sale suggests that this objective is being achieved.

Also speaking via Zoom, Peens said the average sale prices were just 2% off the upper estimate. Crucially, the sale established a credible benchmark for top-end South African wines. A six-bottle lot of 2005 vintage Boekenhoutskloof Syrah sold for R10 553, or R1758 per bottle, which is above the typical threshold of R1500 for a wine in this category. “It is very encouraging for our local producers that they are receiving this recognition from the market,” said Kilbourn.

There was strong bidding for a three-bottle lot of 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from French vineyard Château Rayas which sold for R 36 416. “It is one of the most valuable wines and still comparatively under-priced in South Africa,” explained Peens, adding, “We have learnt a lot about how to offer product through Strauss & Co. We think themed auctions are a better way to go. The next auction in May will be more concise and focused on Bordeaux-themed sale of rare wines from South Africa and France.”

The Zoom presentation by Kilbourn and Peens bookended a weeklong series of Talkabouts presented by Strauss & Co specialists. The focus of these daily talks was largely devoted to promoting individual artists and lots in the April online sale. Guest speakers included Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and author Greg Marinovich, from Boston, U.S.A.

“We’ve put a lot of hard work into the online platform and are committed to continuously investing in our digital journey,” said Kilbourn. Last year Strauss & Co moved its entire infrastructure into the cloud. He added that the radically constrained business environment created by the health lockdown emphasised the pivotal role of technology. “The April sale gave us confidence that despite the current setbacks, clients responded positively.

Strauss & Co will be donating a portion of the proceeds from this auction to the Solidarity Fund.