Fredrik Sologub founded the e-commerce platform Artist Arena four years ago. The purpose was to offer creators a sales channel different from the traditional galleries, which usually take up to 50 percent of the selling price in commission. On the platform, the transaction fee is instead 20 percent.
The sales model is complemented by a subscription solution. The connected sellers pay up to 1,950 SEK per year to use the service and access systems for administration, pricing and portfolio management.
All artists connected to us pay a membership fee, which means we have monthly recurring revenue regardless of how the art sells, says founder Fredrik Sologub to the site.
Economy and Further Development
Transactions take place primarily via the digital platform, but the company also works with physical display areas at the department store Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm and Gothenburg, as well as through trade fair events.
The company is currently developing a B2B service where a new function will allow the customer to see what a selected artwork looks like on the wall before the purchase is completed, as a way to increase conversion online. The company refers to this as an AI tool, although the technology for visualizing products in physical environments is usually called AR (Augmented Reality) within the e-commerce industry.
During the financial year which ended in February, revenue amounted to 3.6 million SEK, compared to 2.4 million SEK the previous year. The operating result for the period landed on minus 368,000 SEK, compared to minus 737,000 SEK the previous year.
The company has so far raised 4 million SEK in external capital in two rounds from investors such as Saeid Esmaeilzadeh and Yuncture Invest.
We are in discussions about raising more capital going forward, due to the growth journey we are currently on. Primarily to accelerate our AI development and international expansion, says the CEO.