Auction house Sotheby’s has expanded its retail operations in Asia by opening a new wine store in Hong Kong, One Pacific Place.
Sotheby’s head of wine for Asia, Robert Sleigh said that the store will offer customers a wider choice of wines both in terms of price and quantity.
The company has already opened a store in New York in 2010.
Sotheby’s, which sold HK$1.4 billion ($184 million) of wine over the past four years at auctions in Hong Kong, said that the bottles range in price from HK$148 to HK$280,000.
The company has sold wine worth US$20 million in the first half of this year, an increase from US$9 million in the same period last year.
In 2013, Hong Kong accounted for about 43% of Sotheby’s global auction sales of US$57.9 million.
“Asia is driving the wine market globally and Hong Kong is obviously the hub. There are 50 wines priced below HK$500 that are not likely to be in an auction,” Sleigh added.
Jamie Ritchie, CEO of Sotheby’s Wine, said: “We are excited to expand our reach in the increasingly sophisticated and knowledgeable Asian wine market. We have strong relationships with the worlds’ top winemakers, as well as with collectors throughout Asia, so we are uniquely placed to help wine lovers get the most out of one of life’s greatest pleasures.”
