Lauritz.com/ dengang Lauritz Christensen Auctions was established in 1885. From its former headquarters situated on Søtorvet in Copenhagen, the house evolved over time to become a small, reputable traditional auction house.
In 1998 the family-owned business was bought by Bengt Sundstrøm, whose concept was to focus on the customer and move auctions from the domain of the physical auction house to the Internet. In December 1999 Lauritz Christensen was renamed Lauritz.com A/S. The first online auction began on 9 December and ended 14 days later.
As of spring 2000, all auctions have been held exclusively on the www.lauritz.com site. The traditional qualities of the auction world, such as objective appraisals and viewings, were moved to the new online auction website. Customers continue to be able to view the lots they are interested in before placing their bids. All bidding takes place on the lauritz.com website, where all lots are presented with descriptions, photographs and appraisal values.
With its new internet profile, Lauritz.com has evolved to become Scandinavia’s leading online quality auction house and as of 2004 is now the largest auction house in Denmark. Since the hammer fell on the first auction in 1999, our turnover has risen from DKK 20 million (approx. EUR 2.7 million), to DKK 557 million (approx. EUR 75 million) in 2009.
Lauritz.com has 25 auction houses in 3 countries – Denmark, Sweden and Germany – where sellers and buyers can consign and view items for sale. Lauritz.com has approximately 230 employees, of whom almost half are valuation specialists.
