Luxury Audio Studio: Harman is opening first Experience Store in Europe

 

Since opening its first flagship store in Shanghai in 2010, Harman International, a house of world-renowned audio brands and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has added such cosmopolitan locations as Tokyo, and New York City. With its deep automotive roots, Munich was a natural choice for the first European Experience Store. The very design of the store’s interior evokes Germany’s powerful automotive culture and identity.

Located at Sendlinger Straße 46, in the heart of Munich’s popular central retail shopping district, the new location is designed to serve as a showcase for Harman’s award-winning audio solutions.

The first of its kind in Europe, the Experience Store in Munich is intended to bring together speed and sound in a unique way. Across a 33.5 meter glass façade lies a modern, dynamic environment that pays homage to Germany’s rich automotive culture and legendary precision. Gensler Architects, whose portfolio includes Facebook’s California headquarters, Cadillac House in New York, and the stunning Shanghai Tower, designed the interior as the visualization of a sound wave that guides consumers from the front to the back of the store.

“Our first Harman store in Europe transcends simple retail to a memorable visual and auditory experience center. It is a dynamic showcase for our family of brands including JBL, Harman Kardon and AKG, and it will feature select cars from our automaker partners that include our in-dash technologies and sound systems. The store will truly be a place where speed meets sound combining our automotive audio and consumer audio heritage in one place. Through it, we will continue to transform how consumers interact with our audio products and brands,” said Michael Mauser, President, Lifestyle Audio at Harman.

The space is designed to be entirely transformed for various events including lectures, small concerts, parties, etc. – fixtures can be moved, digital displays can be taken over, color-changing LEDs in the ceiling can wash the space in colors to adapt to every need and mood.

It will feature award-winning consumer products from JBL, Harman Kardon and AKG including headphones, portable speakers, soundbars, voice controlled speakers and much more. Harman’s automotive audio business will also feature in the store with a rotating selection of vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art sound systems from its portfolio of automotive audio brands including Harman Kardon, JBL, Bang & Olufsen, Bowers & Wilkins.

The Munich Experience Store will enable customers to interact not only with Harman’s products, but also with regular musical events, celebrity appearances, car launches in collaboration with automakers, and much more. An additional Luxury Audio Studio is also set to open in an adjacent space later this year. In the Luxury Audio Studio, audio enthusiasts will be able to enjoy and explore products from Harman’s exclusive luxury brands like Lexicon, Mark Levinson, and Revel plus it will include a deluxe cinema featuring Dolby Atmos.

As part of the opening, Harman will also make a commitment to the local community.

Every holiday season, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Munich based Youth athletic organizations. To kick off the campaign Harman  donated 25,000 EUR) to the International Hockey Federation on the occasion of the store opening. The donation was handed over to German National Team Coach Marco Sturm and some key players from the silver-medal winning German Olympic championship team during an evening ceremony at the store.