- "London calling" was the motto for our editor-in-chief Michael Holzinger in mid-November 2024, as a visit to the KEF Music Gallery London was on the agenda.
Admittedly, for the author of these lines, 6.45 a.m. is not the best time to board an aeroplane, even if it’s to the vibrant British metropolis of London. But that’s what you have to do when you’re kindly invited by GP Acoustics GmbH, the KEF distributor responsible for the DACH region, to experience an extremely insightful and exciting day in a remarkable location, which the English loudspeaker manufacturer KEF created and opened a few weeks ago with the KEF Music Gallery London – as we reported.
KEF Music Gallery London is the most ambitious project to date in a new marketing strategy initiated by KEF in 2023 with the opening of KEF Music Gallery Hongkong and KEF Music Gallery Tokyo, which now includes a number of other locations such as KEF Music Room Hongkong, KEF Music Studio Chengdu and KEF Music Lounge New Jersey.
KEF Music Gallery London – The Global Flagship Store
Of course, KEF speaks of flagship stores, in the case of London even of the Global Flagship Store, but probably primarily for lack of a better term for a generally understandable description. Everyone has an idea of what a flagship store is; it is a generally valid description of a concept that has been successful many times over in putting a brand’s products centre stage.
And of course, this also happens in all the KEF locations around the world just listed, and thus also in the KEF Music Gallery London, which will officially open in summer 2024.
But it’s not enough to just talk about a flagship store, which is why KEF itself is not so happy about this term and prefers to talk about KEF Experience Locations.
KEF Experience Location
As already mentioned, KEF’s primary aim with the KEF Experience Locations is of course to present the British brand and its products in the best possible way, but not only that. The aim is also to inspire prospective customers with a unique brand experience, not just for the KEF brand itself, but actually for listening to music and enjoying films at a high level.
Even if the solutions of the KEF brand naturally take centre stage and the British do not see their commitment as entirely altruistic, they certainly want to make their contribution to ensuring that more attention is paid to high-end consumer electronics solutions as a whole, that good sound regains importance, and that this is done on as broad a front as possible.
The focus is not on selling products, on the contrary, the aim is to avoid the pressure to buy that prospective customers might feel in traditional specialist stores. The KEF Experience Location is therefore clearly seen by the company as a marketing expenditure and nothing at all resembles a typical specialist shop. When you enter the location, you feel as if you are in an elegant gallery, a modern event location, and the consultations with the specially trained, very young staff are intended to be informal, although you can of course also purchase many products directly if you wish.
Listen and believe
The motto of the KEF Music Gallery London is Listen and believe. As already mentioned, KEF has done everything in its power to create a somewhat different environment to that of traditional retail.
The address at 42-48 Great Portland Street, just a stone’s throw from London’s bustling Oxford Street, looks almost inconspicuous from the outside. The shop windows are adorned with audio devices from various brands and speakers from KEF, but only a very small metal sign refers to the brand itself.
5.000 m2 world of experience – from The Gallery to The Living Room and The Ultimate Experience Room
In total, the KEF Music Gallery London extends over two floors and 5.000 m2, whereby you first land in the Gallery, which KEF wants to be understood as an urban oasis and which already shows a cross-section of compact audio systems that are presented in individual areas across the room. In addition, there are speakers on the ceiling throughout the room, allowing for impressive sound reinforcement. The so-called KEFé invites you to get advice over various coffee and tea specialities as well as soft drinks in a relaxed atmosphere.
In the evenings, this part of the KEF Music Gallery London is transformed into an event location, with the range of events held here being extremely diverse and a reflection of London’s cultural scene, as KEF states. The spectrum of events that have already taken place here ranges from live music of various genres, vinyl release parties and discussion panels to readings and exhibitions by a wide variety of artists, and they are extremely enthusiastic about the lively interest.
From KEF’s point of view, the fact that you can attract visitors in this way that you could never reach through traditional channels shows that the concept of the KEF Music Gallery is the right one…
During our visit, we could indeed see that there was a great deal of interest, there was a lot of coming and going, and the staff were constantly busy presenting various solutions to interested parties, whereby we found it remarkable how broadly positioned the visitors were and how diverse their questions were. From the very first contact with the topic of HiFi or Home Cinema to very specific problems or product demos, everything was there…
It was all the more pleasant to escape to the so-called studio, a room with specially optimised room acoustics, which on the one hand is intended as a closed-off listening room for customers, but also as a workshop for creative people. Many things are possible here, from podcasts to intimate recording sessions.
Things get particularly exciting in the basement, where the hub is available for meetings and training sessions of all kinds. The most striking feature here is a very long table, which measures an impressive four metres and was designed by British furniture manufacturer Sebastian Cox. The table is made from a single piece of Kentish oak, making a direct reference to the name KEF – Kent Engineering & Foundry – and the company’s site in Maidstone, Kent.
Immediately adjacent to the hub are two special rooms: The Ultimate Experience Room and The Living Room. As the name suggests, the aim here is to create a living room atmosphere, although a few acoustic measures have of course been taken to ensure an appealing acoustic environment. Interested parties can try out a wide variety of audio systems here, although it is advisable to make an appointment in advance and have approximate ideas or even a specific configuration ready for the demo.
Here too, it goes without saying that the solutions are presented by trained staff who are able to correctly categorise the customer’s wishes and also have in-depth specialist knowledge and therefore all the relevant information for a comprehensive consultation.
This is particularly important for what is probably the most spectacular room at the KEF Music Gallery London, The Ultimate Experience Room, which on the one hand features a complete Home Cinema at reference level including Dolby Atmos based on the KEF Extreme Home Theatre Ci-Reference In-wall Speaker, and on the other hand also offers the opportunity to subject one of the most extraordinary speaker systems on the market, the KEF Muon, to an extensive listening test. Incidentally, we were happy to do just that for a few hours…
Finally, it should be mentioned that the basement has another exciting room that is not normally accessible to visitors, namely the control centre of the entire location, the server room. This is where everything literally comes together, as the entire KEF Music Gallery London is of course part of a complex control system and therefore fully automated.
Collaboration with architecture and interior design firm Conran and Partners
When designing the space, KEF worked with the renowned British architecture and interior design firm Conran and Partners.
In this respect, it is explained that the rooms are intended to celebrate the uniqueness and personality of KEF through exceptional, well thought-out design with high-quality materials and surfaces. With an industrial yet sophisticated colour palette of stainless steel, concrete and light and dark oak, the interiors are said to exude a simple yet inviting atmosphere. The KEF Music Gallery London is thus a contemporary environment with a residential feel and an inviting alternative to conventional showrooms.
And indeed, the entire location conveys an extremely pleasant atmosphere, starting with The Gallery, which has an industrial look, through to the very cosy The Living Room and The Ultimate Experience Room, where the interior also stands out.
Getting to the point
It was an extremely exciting day in London, and it’s clear to see that the British metropolis now has one more attraction with the KEF Music Gallery. Yes, it is somehow a flagship store that has been realised here to put the KEF brand in the best light, but not only that. The entire location has been designed in such a way, the entire concept is designed to promote fine listening in general. A visit is therefore also worthwhile for those who simply want to be impressed by the outstanding sound of a wide range of audio solutions.
And the rich entertainment and cultural programme that KEF organises in the KEF Music Gallery London is a particular guarantee that as many people as possible will be able to enjoy this, even those who may not have known what to do with HiFi or Home Cinema before. Chapeau, they have really understood that they have to break new ground and are doing so in an impressive way!
| THEME | A visit to … KEF Music Gallery London |
|---|---|
| KEF |
| Brand | KEF |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | KEF |
| Distribution | GP Acoustics GmbH |
| More about this manufacturer at HiFi BLOG |
