Barrett-Jackson

History

Barrett-Jackson was formed by Tom Barrett and Russ Jackson, who both moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1960, after relocating from Illinois and Michigan respectively. Jackson had previously taken his family on regular vacations to a dude ranch near Scottsdale. Upon moving there, he purchased a car wash and eventually added a car restoration shop. Barrett and Jackson met each other through a newspaper ad, as Barrett was attempting to sell a Cadillac V-16. Although the sale never went through, the two became friends and business partners. In 1967, they launched Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes, a car show to raise money for Scottsdale facilities, including an art center and a library.

In mid-1971, Barrett and Jackson traveled to Auburn, Indiana to attend a classic car auction held by auctioneer Robert Kruse and his family. The event inspired the first Barrett-Jackson auto auction, held in Scottsdale in December 1971, with the Kruse family as auctioneers. The event included 50 vehicles from Barrett's collection and 25 from Jackson's, with another 75 from various sellers. The auction was originally meant as a one-time event, but was more successful than expected, garnering 3,000 attendees. It became an annual event, and eventually prompted the creation of other collector car auctions in the Scottsdale area.

Jackson's wife Nellie was a car enthusiast and also took part in the business. Jackson's son, Craig, described his father and Barrett as opposites: "Tom was very colorful and an expert 'showman' and was the wheeler-dealer who went out and found cars around the world and brought them back to Arizona. My mom ran the front office, and my dad ran the shop and restorations. He was more the 'car guy'". Barrett and Jackson jokingly referred to each other as Mr. Loose and Mr. Tight respectively, in reference to their spending habits.

After a lengthy battle with cancer, Russ Jackson died in 1993, at the age of 77. He had retired from the business several years earlier, leaving sons Brian and Craig in charge. Barrett retired following Jackson's death, and he himself would die 11 years later, at the age of 75. Brian Jackson also died from cancer in 1995, leaving his brother in charge. Craig Jackson serves as chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson Auction Company. He had worked for the business since he was a child, starting out on trash duty. Upon taking over the company, he disproved skeptics who questioned whether he could handle the business, introducing Internet bidding which further popularized the auctions. He also put out customer surveys, which prompted the expansion of the event to include vendors and live entertainment.

In the 2000s, Barrett-Jackson began expanding to other U.S. cities, while maintaining its headquarters in Scottsdale. Barrett-Jackson garnered $108 million in 2007, a record that would not be broken until 2014, by about $5 million. The auction house had been impacted by the Great Recession, and business did not fully recover until 2018.

In 2021, Barrett-Jackson purchased the Phoenix-based Collector Car Network, which included several classic car publications and the Future Collector Car Show. With the acquisition, Barrett-Jackson aimed to expand the collector car market. In August 2022, it was announced that IMG had acquired a 55% majority stake in Barrett-Jackson in a cash-and-stock deal valued at around $261 million.

2007 disputes

The 2007 Scottsdale auction featured the last authenticated race car created by the Ramchargers, a former drag racing team that had been staffed by Chrysler employees. After the car sold for $300,000, owner David Clabuesch accused Barrett-Jackson of ending the auctioneering prematurely, resulting in a lower-than-expected sale price. After the sale, Barrett-Jackson sued Clabuesch for "outrageous and defamatory actions," including chaining the car's wheels at the auction tent and putting up a sign calling its sale "void". In 2008, Barrett-Jackson announced a settlement in which Clabuesch exonerated the company of all allegations.

During the same auction, Keith Martin, editor of Sports Car Market and a member of Speed Channel's on-air commentary team for the auction, was ejected by Barrett-Jackson. At the time, Sports Car Market had run unfavorable editorials about the state of the collector car industry and whether some cars were worth the high dollars being spent on them, though the magazine did not mention Barrett-Jackson or any other firm by name. During the auction, Martin allegedly made comments about company business practices and the quality of cars sold; according to Barrett-Jackson, he told people in the media center to leave and attend the auction of a competitor. He was dropped as a Speed commentator, at the request of Barrett-Jackson.

Locations

Although Barrett-Jackson auctions are held in several U.S. cities, its flagship event takes place each January in Scottsdale. The first auction was held in 1971, on a dirt lot at the Safari Hotel in Scottsdale. In 1977, the event moved out of town to Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Scottsdale mayor Herb Drinkwater later convinced Barrett-Jackson to return by having the city construct an events arena known as WestWorld, where the auctions have continued to run annually since 1989.

By 2001, Barrett-Jackson also hosted auctions for vintage race cars every other year in Monaco, coinciding with the Historic Grand Prix. That year, a second U.S. auction site was added at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, which ran until 2004.

In 2003, Barrett-Jackson opened another annual auction site in Palm Beach, Florida, where it continues as of 2023. It is held annually at the South Florida Fairgrounds, typically in late March or early April.

A Las Vegas auction was added in 2008, held annually at the Mandalay Bay resort. The event was typically held in late September or early October. In 2021, the event switched to a June date and moved to the newly completed West Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.