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AND ART FOR ALL INSIDE THE FRAME
I
t's a familiar scenario: You walk into your local big box electronics retailer and, while admiring the impossible- to-miss, state-of-the-art 3-D home entertainment system on display, one of the store's helpful salespeople informs you that you can take that very same system home with you today and pay no interest until 2013…
Now imagine you're at your local art gallery, pining for that
impossible-to-miss new painting from your favorite contem- porary artist: One of the store's helpful salespeople informs you that you can have that one-of-a-kind piece hanging in your living room this evening, and pay no interest until 2013. T ough the fi nancial terms diff er from customer to cus-
tomer, that's the gist of how GE Capital's Luxury Financing Program works. "We help businesses build by being competi- tive," says Regina Leadem, GE Capital's vice president of client development. "By being competitive with big box retailers, and by being competitive for the luxury dollar alone." A major player in the fi nancing market since the 1930s,
know more about
how GE Capital is help- ing today's art galleries? In the March/April 2012 edition of Art Business News, we'll talk bottom-line num- bers with art retailers who are using the program with great success.
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when the company began fi nancing appliances for consum- ers, GE Capital has since expanded its presence into nearly 20 segments. T e company entered into the luxury market more than 30 years ago, when it began off ering fi nancing for such items as bridal wear and jewelry. T ough art has long been a part of GE Capital's portfolio, the company really "started to make a foray into the art market around 2005 or 2006," says Leadem. "It's really then that we said, 'Hey, there's something out here...' Last year, we decided to make much more of a state- ment in the market, because there were so many people reach- ing out to us." With more than a half-century of success behind them, GE Capi- tal understands the importance of becoming true "partners" with each of its clients. "We do that not by say-
Want to
GE CAPITAL'S LUXURY FINANCING PROGRAM IS A WIN-WIN FOR ART RETAILERS AND COLLECTORS ALIKE
ing, 'We're a bank, we're giving you fi nancing,'" notes Leadem. "We have marketing materials, we have training materials, we have WebEx training, we have point of purchase [displays] they can put in their stores to promote our program." In short, GE Capital partners have access to the company's eight de- cades of expertise in what drives consumer fi nancing and big- ticket purchases. "We believe that better capital builds better businesses," states Leadem. Anthony Deljou, national sales director for Deljou Art
Group (www.deljouartgroup.com), one of the world's leading fi ne art retailers, has been working with GE Capital for nearly fi ve years as a way to off er fi nancing to his wholesale clients. "Being able to purchase a painting today and not make a
payment for the piece for up to six to 12 months is a defi nite advantage," says Deljou. "In most cases, the gallery will sell the artwork long before they would ever have to pay for it." In addition to creating a convenient—and familiar—pay-
ment solution for the consumer, the program helps to create customer loyalty, turning browers into buyers and one-time buyers into full-time collectors. "For Deljou, the program of- fers immediate client loyalty as the luxury card that we set up for our client can only be used to purchase Deljou artwork," adds Deljou. "We have been able to market the fi nancing op- tions into our brand." "We hear that a lot," says Leadem of this repeat customer
side eff ect. "It's a great way to bring that customer back again and say, 'I know you like this particular artist and we have more pieces.' We're really giving them a way to purchase these items and let customers get what they really want." Just as there is no typical art buyer, there is no one-size-
fi ts-all set of fi nancing terms, which apply to both deferred- interest payments as well as installment plans. Interest rates and payment schedules depend upon two things: A customer's credit-worthiness and a merchant's comfort level. "We are a bank," notes Leadem. "We do have a fi scal responsibility not to over-lend, and we do have to look at someone's ability to repay." When it comes to payment terms, "It's always up to what the merchant wants to off er," she says. "So if you're going to purchase $10,000 worth of art, it's up to the mer- chant whether they want to off er you 12 months to pay for this or six months."
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
