Phillips auction house has voiced its condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In an Instagram post on March 1, the company’s CEO Stephen Brooks reacted with dismay to the organization’s 289,000 followers at the invasion of Ukraine.
“We at Phillips unequivocally condemn the invasion of Ukraine. Along with the rest of the art world, we have been shocked and saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the region. We call for an immediate cessation of all hostilities in the strongest possible terms,” he said.
In a second Instagram post yesterday, the auctioneer announced that it will be donating 100% of the buyer’s premium and vendor’s commission from its recent 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in London to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.
The donation will total £5.8 million.
“The Ukrainian Red Cross Society is doing incredible work to support and protect people in the region, and it is our hope that the £5.8 million of buyer’s premium and vendor’s commission from our Evening Sale will help this extraordinary charity as they continue their life saving mission,” Mr Brooks shared.
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According to Companies House in the United Kingdom, Phillips has two owners “with significant control”: Leonid Fridlyand and Leonid Strunin. Both are Russian with their address given as Phillips’ London headquarters in Mayfair and their countries of residence recorded as Monaco and Cyprus, respectively.
All companies operating in the UK have to file accounts annually at Companies House with details of their finances and ownership.
Mr Fridlyand and Mr Strunin are also owners of Mercury Retail Group, one of the largest retail conglomerates in Russia with 125,000 employees, according to its website, mainly in supermarkets and convenience stores.
Mercury is also Russia’s largest retailer of luxury watches.
It has 35 jewellery and watch boutiques in Moscow, seven in St Petersburg and five in Sochi representing Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard, Hublot, Breguet, Girard-Perregaux, Tudor, Zenith, Bell & Ross, Breitling, Blancpain, De Bethune, Urwerk, DeWitt, Greubel Forsey, Ulysse Nardin, TAG Heuer, Gucci and Channel.
Swatch Group has already said it has stopped exporting watches to Russia, but its affiliate in the country will continue to trade.
Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe said they would not comment when asked by WATCHPRO about their position on Russian invasion of Ukraine. Other groups and brands, including LVMH, Richemont and Richard Mille have not replied.
Russia was the 17th largest market in the world for Swiss watches last year, receiving exports worth CHF 260 million with a retail value of over half a billion francs.
Mr Fridlyand and Mr Strunin’s connection to the watch and jewelry world has not been widely reported but the art world has reacted strongly and is calling for collectors to boycott Phillips auctions, which has flagship operations in Geneva, New York and London.
Matthew Girling, chief executive of Bonhams until 2020, told The Art Newspaper he believes people should still boycott Phillips over its Russian links.
“I am glad he [Stephen Brooks] has said this but at the end of the day it is just words. More assertive action needs to be taken to try and stop what is going on in Ukraine. Only a boycott of Phillips’ sales will get the attention of the world and the owners of Mercury to hopefully influence Putin to change his current chosen course of action. We have seen how the world of banking, travel, leisure, sport and culture have responded to the crisis. Can the art market simply ignore it and carry on as normal?”
Phillips said earlier this week it does not expect sanctions to affect its business. Neither Mr Fridlyand nor Mr Strunin is on a US or UK sanctions list and Phillips told The Art Newspaper it wouldn’t do business with anyone who was on a sanctions list.
Phillips accounts for around one third of the £400 million spent on luxury watches at auction in 2021, a record year for the sector.
Nine of the 10 most expensive watches were sold through Phillips in 2021, including a brand-new reference 5711 Patek Phillipe Nautilus watch created with Tiffany, which initially sold for $6.5 million, before the winning bidder withdrew and the second, under bidder was awarded the sale.
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