King of the auction house?

Acker Merrall & Condit claims to be “head and shoulders” above its rivals in the two most important auction markets, but not everyone agrees.

John Kapon, CEO Acker Merrall & Condit. Picture (c) Helayne Seidman

With estimated sales of US$62 million in 2014, Acker Merrall & Condit claims to dominate the global wine auction market. “The key markets are New York and Hong Kong, and if you combine them we’re 40% ahead of anybody else which is a great feeling. They’re clearly the most important markets in the world, and we’re clearly head and shoulders above everybody else,” the firm’s CEO, John Kapon, told the drinks business. He attributed the success to “a lot of hard work and a lot of great relationships” – not least with the American importer, Martine Saunier whose personal collection is about to be sold in Hong Kong.

Yet claims of dominance were quickly dismissed by rivals. “Acker’s privately held and can put out any numbers they like,” said Jamie Ritchie, CEO and President Americas & Asia, Sotheby’s Wine. “It looks to me we did about US$65 million between London, New York and Hong Kong. Our internal stats look as though we’re number one in Asia, number one in the UK and number one worldwide.” He described Chicago’s Hart Davis Hart as “the leading house in the US,” with sales of around US$40 million.

Kapon also claimed to have “the most accurate estimates in the business,” though Acker Merall were unwilling to supply evidence to back this up, saying it was “simply a competitive advantage we cannot share,” and Sotheby’s certainly contest the claim. On the thorny issue of provenance, Kapon said: “I think the market’s never been better as far as quality and what’s been offered.” He refused to be drawn on the Rudy Kurniawan scandal which has been described as ‘the tip of the ice-berg’, saying: “For us, that’s long in the rear-view mirror.”

Jamie Ritchie – CEO  Americas & Asia Sotheby’s Wine

Not for Jamie Ritchie however. “The issue with the Rudy Kurniawan wines is that they were spread throughout the marketplace, mostly through the Acker auctions, and they are still out there. I don’t know if they’ve been recycled back into the market, but we continue to see wines from Kurniawan that we would not sell, and in many consignments throughout the year.” Ritchie believed it was incumbent on the auction houses and sellers to weed out the fakes. “If the consumer doesn’t care about the reputation and integrity of the wines that they’re selling, then people are always going to get away with being unscrupulous.”