Art Market: English Bonhams buys French Cornet de Saint Cyre

It’s a popular French brand that goes under the British flag: Cornet de Saint-Sierre, an auction house, was bought for an undisclosed amount by Bonhams. But due to the infamous brand name, it will be renamed Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Founded in 1973 by Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr, the house has set itself a precedent. Under the hammer of this auctioneer – for a long time the most media friendly and most “jet-set” in France – the first sale was dedicated to photography, design promotional materials or contemporary Chinese art. His two children have continued the story since the 1990s, including Arnaud, who heads the Bonhams Cornet de Saint-Siren.

The house is home to its charity vacations (sixty per year), its bidding auctions (sold by artist Fred Forrest’s first website), and its collections (Alain Delon’s modern paintings in 2007, garden by Franco-Japanese painter Fujita. Furniture from Hotel Royal Moncio in 2011, 2008, 2016 In Helene Rochas Collection, Asian Art from Rosette next October), its Fashion sales .

Fierce competition

But, like others, since acquiring the rights to operate in France in 2011, the company has struggled to oppose multinational art firms Christie’s and Sotheby’s. She thought she could achieve this by settling in one place Luxury Private House Avenue Hoach in Paris , Similar to the Artcurial in its Dassault Hotel below Champs-Elysées. It has also successfully established itself in Brussels.

But fierce competition and the costs incurred by this exceptional Parisian location have eroded its margins and are an opportunity to capture Bonhams’ appetite for Europe. In 2021, the Cornet de Saint-Zaire sold 31.8 million euros and was ranked 10th.^e France’s position was in the top 4 in the past, with Sotheby’s at 424 million and Christie’s at 409.1 million.

“Bonhams picks local houses with real identity, and this alliance will bring the international dimension that our sellers want,” explains Arnaud Garnett de Saint-Sierre, who did not hide his discussions with other auction houses to achieve significant size.

According to Bonhams, the acquisition will consolidate its European network and position in France, which seeks to strengthen its presence in Brexit. Sales Room in September 2021 rue de la Paix , On premises formerly used as a showcase for auctions held mainly in London. His only major session since 2005 is one dedicated Antique cars At the Grand Palace, during retromobile. No longer, its thirty-five employees will join Avenue Ho Chi Minh to work with Fifteen staff of Cornet.

“World Local Auction House”

Since the acquisition of British finance company Efris in September 2018, Bonhams ($ 800 million in sales in 2021) has multiplied its acquisitions: Danish Brown Rasmussen, Swedish Bukowskis (மில்லியன் 70 million in sales in 2020), an English Themarket car sales site (and an annual) 80 sales).

“We buy well-established homes with a family feel like Garnett, which has been creating collections for its customers for over 50 years. We want to be a global local auction house, ”said Bruno Vinciquera, CEO.

Founded in 1793, Bonhams is positioned in the “middle market” ($ 1,000 to $ 5 million), making it more profitable than the monopolized “premium” lots of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and the house is considered an integration. Is going on. It benefits from being in twenty-two countries (with sales rooms in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong) and various specialties (about sixty).

At the middle level, it could become a competitor to ArtCuriel (163 million in revenue in 2021), especially as the CEO of Bonhams, who worked for the New York-based French Walt Disney company Dell & Sotheby’s, is well aware of. The possibility of Paris.