Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Case 16: Evolution of An Art Gallery: Kenny's Bookshop and Art Gallery
Case 16: Evolution of An Art Gallery: Kenny's Bookshop and Art Gallery
1
2 Part four Cases
persuaded to come out of retirement to artists] which are squirreled around the
paint, and Gay Byrne (i.e. Irish radio and tele- shop.13 Apparently, there are so many
vision celebrity) opened the exhibition. In the photographs competing with shelf space,
1980s, the purchase of additional space it is not possible to display them all. Mrs.
beside the bookshop facilitated the reinte- Kenny only regrets they didnt start taking
gration of the art gallery back into the book- the photographs earlier and explained:
shop, and out of the family home.9
Over time, added business meant the need
for added room and in 1996, the entire shop
was extensively redesigned and renovated.
Strategic vision and
Originally, Kennys was a medieval town house Kennys brand
constructed around 1480. The challenge was
to retain the charm of the old shop, with its In 2002, Kennys turnover approached 4 million,
maze of nooks and crannies, while increasing with the art gallery contributing about one-third
space. As Tom Kenny put it, the idea was to to the turnover. Kennys employs over 35 people,
change everything and to change nothing.10 including eight family members. Indeed,
The solution was a beautiful atrium con- Maureen Kenny, now 85, still works full-time in
necting the three floors and which preserved the business, greeting customers and answering
much of the original design, including massive e-mail enquiries, typically in the Irish language.
oak beams dating from 1482, as well as stone Although Kennys business has evolved over
archways and fireplaces dating back 300 years. the years, their core values remain relatively
In addition, the stained-glass windows that constant, namely, to be associated with excel-
James Joyces Ulysses branded Mr. Lewis lence, pursue great, unique and fresh products,
Werners cheerful windows, [were] rescued explore new ideas even madcap ones before
from a torn-down Dublin building, [and given dismissing them, and continuously creating an
a home] in the bookshop.11 The atrium has audience, even if it is on a one-to-one basis.
been a success and received a Royal Insti- Moreover, the strategic vision for The Kenny Gal-
tute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) award for lery should be considered in the context of
excellence in architecture and design. The Kennys core business, which concentrates on
architects, Simon J. Kelly & Partners, were the sale and promotion of books with an Irish
cited for capturing the vital quality of the interest and art produced primarily by Irish
quintessential Galway landmark. Moreover, artists.
with the atrium, daylight floods into the art The main objectives for The Kenny Gallery
galleries and beckons customers with their are to:
expanse of contemporary art.
l Expand the customer base within Ireland
Customers enjoy wandering through the and abroad.
rabbits warren of added-on rooms [and]
l Explore innovations (e.g. internet, direct
Mrs. Kenny frequently distributes maps to
marketing) for pre-selling and promoting
help customers find their way around the
to individual and corporate clients.
meandering building.12 The Kenny family
know most everyone in the Irish literary and l Develop further the tailored services (e.g.
art world. Art is exhibited in many of the consultancy, collection management,
bookshops nooks and crannies, and any- valuation, finance) offered to individual
one visiting Kennys will probably spend as and corporate clients.
much of their time looking at some of the l Capitalize further on the strong presence
1,200 signed photographs of writers [and afforded by the Kennys brand.
4 Part four Cases
Any strategies implemented on behalf of The cultural industries in Ireland.17 Although this
Kenny Gallery, must take into consideration the empirical study was the first of its kind in Ire-
Kennys brand. For many consumers a brand is land, it remains the most up-to-date, reliable
a landmark, facilitating trade. It encapsulates source of data on employment in the sector.18
identity, origin and distinction. In general, con- Coopers & Lybrand took care to define the
sumers are increasingly sophisticated and cultural sector and to avoid statistical pitfalls,
want to know more about a product before they and hence, the reason it is still considered the
make a purchase. The qualities the Kennys definitive study of Irelands cultural industry.
brand communicates most strongly are Irish, The study defined the cultural sector as
personal, unique, traditional, high quality, encompassing the performing arts, media,
excellence, reliable, progressive, and thought- combined arts (e.g. art centres and festivals),
ful. An issue remains as to how to develop this visual arts and design, heritage and libraries.
concept and communicate it to art gallery cus- Moreover, only elements relative to the direct
tomers successfully, thereby enhancing the creative or cultural practice of each of these
brand further and without diluting its value as sectors were included. The studys key find-
an asset. Hence, the issue is the development ings are outlined in Appendix A Table 1, and
of a marketing strategy which will facilitate The some of the findings are given below:19
Kenny Gallerys profitability and which will not
dilute the brand equity.14 l Irelands cultural industries had a gross
aggregate value of E560 million (441
million) and a minimum export value of
E151 million (119 million).20
Irelands cultural l The total level of employment was
industry estimated at 21,500 (i.e. in terms of
full-time equivalents) and accounted for
The cultural sector in Ireland has experi- 1.9% of total employment in Ireland.21
enced extraordinary success over the last l In order of size, the proportion of
decade.15 The notion of cultural industries employment for each sector was performing
was introduced in the 1980s, after a number arts (47% of total employment), visual arts
of studies were conducted in the US and the and design (22%), media (18%), heritage and
UK on the economic impact of arts activity. In libraries (12%), and combined arts (1%).
1987, due to the influence of these studies, l Within these sectors, five disciplines
Irelands Arts Council commissioned a accounted for over 78% of total
report on the relationship between econom- employment within the arts, namely
ics and the performing arts.16 In 1993, the EU music, film/TV/video, applied design,
realizing the increasing economic impor- libraries and craft.
tance of cultural industries, funded a pan-
European pilot study to collate employment Another study conducted in the UK in 200022
data within the sector. A follow-on study has important inferences for Ireland since the
from the EU pilot was commissioned by level of employment in the sector, relative to
Temple Bar Properties and overseen by var- aggregate employment, and the structure and
ious State bodies, including the Arts Council nature of employment are very similar in Ire-
and the then Department of Arts, Culture land and Britain.23 Of particular interest was
and the Gaeltacht. Coopers & Lybrand (now that 2.4% of total employment in Britain was
known as Price Waterhouse Coopers) con- either in a cultural industry and/or cultural
ducted the study with the aim of exploring the occupation. This came to a total of 647,000
employment and economic significance of the jobs in Britain and on a pro rata basis to
Case 16 Evolution of an art gallery 5
are all about the artists, The Kenny Gallery exhibition catalogues and posters as additional
benefits from their reflected glory.29 exposure for The Kenny Gallery, and more impor-
Press releases about current and forth- tantly, they offer exposure with a long-life. For
coming exhibitions and are sent to newspa- Tom, marketing is about creating an audience
pers and radio stations in Galway, and also to all the time, and not just through the media.32
those located in the artists hometown and/or Exhibitions are a significant point of sale (35%
current residence. In this respect, the publicity of gallery sales), and consequently, many of the
generated from press releases has a wider, gallerys marketing efforts, such as press
more national scope. The Kenny Gallery organ- releases, catalogues and posters, revolve
izes over 15 one-person exhibitions each year, around exhibitions. In addition to exhibitions,
including retrospectives of established artists. other avenues for sales are the shop (50%), the
For example, Kenneth Webb has held numer- internet (10%), and corporate clients (5%). Over-
ous exhibitions at Kennys, and in 2003, he all, personal selling is an important component
celebrates the 50th anniversary of his collabo- to the gallerys promotional mix. Tom character-
ration with The Kenny Gallery. Kenneth Webb izes The Kenny Gallerys selling style as low-key,
believes, in addition to providing a forum to unobtrusive, relaxed, friendly, personal, knowl-
sell his work, Tom Kenny and his staff have edgeable, helpful and honest. It is definitely not a
been invaluable in offering the emotional sup- hardsell approach. People are encouraged to
port and enthusiasm vital to building an wander around the galleries at their own pace,
artists confidence and reputation. Although, and are never rushed. Consciously, the gallery
Tom believes with a great product (i.e. an staff members do not impose their taste on
artist and their work) genuine enthusiasm customers, and encourage indecisive clients to
flows naturally, and essentially, that kind of take pieces on a 3-week approval. Their philos-
sincerity cant be faked.30 Also, exhibitions ophy is that people need to see how a piece will
are not hard-sell occasions; theyre a social look in their home or office, and whether theyll
event, a party, to celebrate an artist.31 love living with it for a long time.33
Tom Kenny strongly advocates variety in
exhibitions as being essential to drawing cus-
tomers into the gallery on a continual basis. Gallery customers
Hence, the discovery of new artists for exhibi-
tions is pursued earnestly. On occasion, there The majority of the gallerys sales are to
are group exhibitions on selected themes, such individuals (95%) who purchase primarily
as: Hung, Drawn and Quoted An Exhibition of through exhibitions (35% of gallery sales),
Literary Cartoons, Cleit Augus Clumh Images of the internet (10%), and the shop (50% of
Irish Birds, Women Artists of Ireland, and The Art which 30% are to locals and 20% to tourists.)
of Hurling. With respect to The Art of Hurling, Typical gallery customers reside in the
Tom secured sponsorship for the exhibitions West of Ireland (three-fifths of gallery sales),
colour catalogue and posters from GUINNESS, are professionals with higher disposable
who coincidently is also sponsors of the GAAs incomes, range from 40 to 50 years of age,
All-Ireland Hurling Championship. The cata- with a slightly higher representation of women.
logues and posters were a success, not only However, Tom and his staff have noticed the
for Kennys, but also for GUINNESS, and a num- profile of gallery customers is changing.
ber of posters were given to their sales repre- Increasingly, younger people are buying art
sentatives to distribute to publican clients. and paying it off over a period of time. Appa-
Consequently, The Art of Hurling exhibition rently, its becoming more hip to buy art.34
poster is hung in numerous hurling pubs Additionally, although a sizeable proportion of
throughout the country and abroad. Tom views sales have always been attributed to tourists,
Case 16 Evolution of an art gallery 7
foreign customers are on the rise, primarily type (i.e. medium oil, ceramics, textiles) and
due to Kennys internet presence. style (e.g. modern, classic) of art they sell.
Many of Kennys corporate clients (5% of Kennys has always pursued its own path and
gallery sales), avail of consultation services The Kenny Gallery is no different. This is not to
for advice on creating an artistic layout to indicate Kennys in unaware of and indifferent
suit their business environment. A member to competition; it implies they work especially
of Kennys consultation team goes to the hard to distinguish themselves from compet-
clients building, photographs it, and devel- itors by exploiting their assets (e.g. Kennys
ops a theme to match the clients vision and brand and reputation) and competencies (e.g.
budget. Moreover, Kennys advise on light- knowledge, service, and variety).
ing and arrangement to display the clients
collection to its best advantage. Finally, as
part of the package, Kennys hangs the art.
Kennys advice and proposals are offered, to Web innovation
both corporate and individual clients, free of
charge. As Erica Leonard, Art Gallery Man- Although Kennys has accumulated a lot expe-
ager, notes this kind of personalized serv- rience over 63 years, the opportunity to exploit
ice always pay dividends.35 new avenues for business are proactively
sought. The internet is one avenue Kennys
has implemented to their advantage. Indeed,
Gallery competitors Kennys has received numerous awards for its
innovative use of web technology. In 1998, the
If one were to review the Golden Pages, there European Commission selected their website
are over 150 art galleries listed in the Republic as the best example of innovative use of multi-
of Ireland alone. However, some of these gal- media and the internet by an SME. In 2001, Irish
leries are museums (about 10%) and a size- DHL awarded Kennys the Exporter of the Year,
able proportion (more than 25%) comprises of largely due to its use of e-commerce.
craft shops selling pieces of art as part of their Kennys established a web presence [www.
retail stock. The Arts Council produced a kennys.ie] in October 1994 and, according to
guide listing exhibition space in over 250 ven- web folklore, was the second bookshop in the
ues, including art centres, arts festivals, art world to go on-line; the first was a Californian
schools, libraries, colleges, and universities, based sci-fi bookshop.36 Ireland on Line (IoL),
many of which do not sell the art they exhibit. an internet service provider, offered to develop a
Additionally, there are hundreds of hotels, website for Kennys as a pilot project. From IoLs
restaurants, pubs and businesses that display, perspective, Kennys well-established interna-
and sometimes sell, the work of local artists. tional reputation lent itself to serve as a model
Kennys most direct competitors are those to demonstrate the internets commercial
galleries that operate on a professional, full- potential to other firms. From the beginning,
time basis, and develop exhibition programmes the website attracted visitors, generated enqui-
over the course of the year. These direct com- ries, and consequently prompted Kennys to
petitors are 2040 in number and are scattered invest further in the website.
throughout the country, in the main cities (e.g. The most visited part of the website was the
Dublin, Belfast, and Cork) and larger towns virtual tour of the bookshop and, initially,
(e.g. Sligo, Dingle, Castlebar, and Macroom). Kennys viewed this with some concern. How-
However, galleries like people, have distinct ever, having recognized the website would not
personalities, which are largely influenced by immediately generate volumes of on-line sales,
their location, the gallery managers, and the it was re-conceptualized to be primarily a point
8 Part four Cases
of information.37 Desi Kenny, Manager of sold. She e-mailed and asked had we any new
Kennys Irish Book Parcels, believed the home paintings by this particular artist? I took the
page to be like a shop window, where: digital camera, photographed the four new
paintings we had in stock by this artist, and
The purpose of such a window is to entice e-mailed the images to her. The next day,
people into the shop. In so doing, it needs to I had an e-mail order for one of the pictures.
be constantly changed. If you do not change The picture was priced at 700.43
your shop window, people will start to think
you have nothing new to offer the same Erica sends direct e-mail marketing cam-
goes for the website.38 paigns to customers who have previously pro-
vided their details to the gallery, and who
Hence, it was decided to renew the content of
have requested information of interest to be
the website on a monthly basis. Consideration
sent to them. Hence, e-mail campaigns allow
was also given as to the purpose of the web
Erica to send digital images of paintings by
site, which was to recreate the ambience of
particular artists, to customers who have
browsing in the physical bookshop, in the
expressed an interest in that artist. The suc-
virtual world.39 Moreover, from 1998, all
cess of these campaigns is such that when six
art exhibitions were showcased and cata-
images are sent to nine potential customers,
logued on the website. As Tom Kenny, Art
it typically results in the sale of four pieces of
Gallery Director, noted:
art, with an average value of E1,050.44
We knew we had made progress on
this objective when in early 2001, a
lady rang from the west coast of the
USA and opened her conversation with What next?
I have just spent two days getting lost
in your web pages and followed this Although The Kenny Gallery is currently a
up with an order for two pieces of successful venture, Tom Kenny wants to
original Irish art that were displayed ensure the gallerys future profitability and
on the website.40 has a number of issues to consider in devel-
The website has provided the art gallery oping a long-term strategy to achieve his
with an additional avenue through which to vision. Among them is the level of growth to
promote new exhibitions and Kennys exist- pursue in national and international mar-
ing inventory of visual art. Initially, the pages kets. With respect to the Irish market, he
generated little in terms of direct sales. needs to consider the gallerys changing
However, over time, as existing customers profile customer and their preferences. Fur-
became more aware of the web pages and thermore, Tom is interested in developing
the presence of the exhibitions in virtual ways to capitalize further on the strength of
format, sales began to materialize.41 For the Kennys brand. Competition is always a
example, people who were unable to physi- relevant issue, and Tom recognizes new, as
cally attend the opening night of the exhibition well as well established galleries, may
began to reserve paintings, having only looked affect The Kenny Gallerys positioning strat-
at them virtually.42 Erica Leonard, Art Gallery egy. How may Tom use marketing to its best
Manager, has found the website, along with a effect for the gallery and its art products?
digital camera and e-mail facilities, to be Additionally, how may the use of new tech-
invaluable sales tools. She related how: nologies facilitate promotion and communi-
A potential customer, having looked at our cation with customers? What advice would
website, found an artist whose work she you give Tom in developing his long-term
really liked. The problem for her was that all strategy to fulfil his vision for The Kenny
of the items shown in the exhibition had been Gallery?
Case 16 Evolution of an art gallery 9
Appendix
Employed Freelance Total Total Value
Table C16.1
Full time Full time Full time Gross Grants Net
Sector No. equivalents No. equivalents equivalents IRm IRm IRm
The employment
and economic
a) Performing significance of
arts the cultural
industries in
Theatre, drama, 925 750 5050 220 970 19.00 5.5 13.50
Ireland:
opera, mime &
puppetry Employment
and sectoral
values
Live dance & 55 55 100 20 75 0.26 0.21 0.05
movement Source Coopers &
Lybrand Corporate
Finance (1994) The
Live & recorded 3,475 2,475 13,050 6,550 9,025 67.70 1.20 66.50 Employment and
music Economic Significance
of the Cultural
Industries in Ireland
(Dublin, Coopers &
Sub-total 4,455 3,280 13,650 6,790 10,070 86.96 6.91 80.05
Lybrand and Temple
Bar Properties).
b) Media
Film, TV, video, 1,922 1,922 1,500 675 2,597 111.98 0.50 111.48
animation1,086
Literature & 190 190 320 140 330 8.90 0.85 8.05
book publishing
c) Combined arts
d) Visual arts
& design
e) Heritage &
libraries
Note
This case is intended to be used a basis for class discussion, rather than illustrating either
effective or ineffective management practices.
References
1 Dininny, P. (1998) All Things Irish. Biblio, July, 3 Ibid.
p. 55. 4 Golden, W. (2002) Kennys Bookshop & Art Gal-
2 Irish Times, 14 April 1998. leries, Ireland, Working Paper, Dept. of
Accountancy & Finance, NUI, Galway, p. 2.
Case 16 Evolution of an art gallery 11
5 The Art of Leather Bookbinding, Kennys 22 Thomas, B. (2001) Employment and the Cul-
Press Pack. tural Sector, in Selwood, S. (editor), The
Cultural Sector in the UK: Profile and Policy
6 Ibid.
Issues, Policy Studies Institute, London.
7 Unique Gifts at Kennys brochure, 2002. 23 OHagan, J. (2001), p. 38.
8 Golden, W. (2002) Kennys Bookshop & Art 24 Ibid.
Galleries, Ireland, Working Paper, Dept. of 25 Sargent, A. (1999) Chapter 6: Arts Marketing in
Accountancy & Finance, NUI, Galway, p. 2. Marketing Management for Nonprofit Organiza-
9 Ibid., p. 55. tions. Oxford,
10 Dininny, P. (1998) All Things Irish. Biblio, Oxford University Press., p. 163.
July, p. 54. 26 Dininny, P. (1998) All Things Irish. Biblio,
11 Ibid., p. 55. July, p. 51.