NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR), the premium global audio and infotainment group, today announced the opening of its North American retail location with a flagship store in the heart of New York City. Located at 527 Madison Avenue (at 54th Street) and opening to the public on November 22, 2013, the new location will transform how consumers interact with audio products and experience sound by giving them access to HARMAN’s award-winning products from legendary brands such as JBL™, harman/kardon™ and AKG™. The company opened flagship stores in Shanghai in 2010 and Seoul earlier this year. It has announced plans to open a fourth showroom in Moscow in early 2014.
“For more than 60 years, Harman brands have played a central role behind the scenes in music, performance and infotainment. Now, we want to amplify our voice, take center stage and get closer to our audience with a flagship store in the heart of Manhattan,” said Dinesh C. Paliwal, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harman International. “With this venue, we will build visibility for our brands in one of the most diverse and international cities in the world and strengthen our relationships with customers and consumers who may only know a fraction of the Harman story. Harman on Madison is an investment in our quest to own premier audio and enable the connected lifestyle, from the studio and stage to car, home and mobile.”
The HARMAN Store will feature award-winning products from HARMAN’s 15 brands, including professional audio equipment, home audio products, high-performance loudspeakers and headphones for everyone from sound aficionados and tech gurus to music lovers and style seekers. In addition to serving as an unsurpassed audio showroom, the HARMAN store will host musical artist performances and DJ sets and offer seminars to educate consumers about personal audio and how to create ideal audio environments in any space. The HARMAN store also will offer shoppers exclusive products available only through the Madison Avenue location.
As the only company to have received two special GRAMMY awards, HARMAN drew inspiration for the store’s design from its role in legendary sound studios and epic events throughout music history: from Woodstock and early recordings of the Beatles to Olympic stadiums and presidential inaugurations. At the Madison Avenue HARMAN store, consumers can listen to the past and hear the future through total immersion experiences, including a 5.1 Home Theater, professional DJ mixing board and a Loud Speaker Lounge. In addition, the store will boast four interactive experience areas:
Sound Spider
The Sound Spider is an interactive table display and headphone rack where shoppers will be able to test a full range of HARMAN headphones by listening to HARMAN artist songs or plugging in their own music players.
Sound Cube
A sound booth that delivers the exclusive listening experience of a music studio, the HARMAN Sound Cube will help shoppers get a sense of how quality audio truly sounds so that they can have the richest music or movie watching experience possible. Consumers can bring their existing headphones or select products from competing brands and compare them directly to HARMAN products in the soundproof chamber.
HARMAN Sound Check
The HARMAN Sound Check series will bring the concert experience to a retail environment. Featuring HARMAN’s award-winning professional concert and music studio equipment, the HARMAN Sound Check series will play host to musical performances and special events. Shoppers will have the opportunity to experience large-venue premium sound in an intimate setting.
Concierge Table
The Concierge Table will deliver a personalized shopping experience by matching consumers to the HARMAN products that best fit their lifestyle. Shoppers will answer a few questions about their audio needs and preferences through the interactive display and a guided sound concierge will identify the best products for them.
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About HARMAN
HARMAN designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 14,900 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.5 billion for the 12 months ended September 30, 2013. The company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR. Please visit www.harman.com for more information.
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© 2013 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.
