Art dealers’ inventory strategy: the case of Goupil, Boussod & Valadon from 1860 to 1914

Geraldine David, Christian Huemer and Kim Oosterlinck

ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: Proper inventory management is crucial for art galleries. Yet, despite its importance, inventory management has been overlooked in the literature. We distinguish four main strategies used by art dealers to manage their inventory and use this classification to set the inventory strategy of Goupil, Boussod & Valadon, a major art gallery active in France at the end of the 19th century, into perspective. Goupil’s books cover the sale of more than 25,000 artworks between 1860 and 1914. Rapidity to sell was a key element in Goupil’s strategy. Out of the sold artworks, almost 75% were sold within a year. Goupil required a slightly higher mark-up for artists from which he held a large inventory. Mark-up for artists in residence and the likelihood to sell their artworks at a loss were lower, signaling a preoccupation for their long-term market.

Keywords: *N14; art gallery; Art market; Boussod & Valadon; Goupil; inventory strategy; N44; Z11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul, nep-his and nep-ore
Note: SCOPUS: ar.j
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in: Business history (2020)

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Journal Article: Art dealers’ inventory strategy: the case of Goupil, Boussod & Valadon from 1860 to 1914 (2023)
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