Lotte Department Store Main Branch Becomes Gangbuk's Largest 'Audio Hub'... High-End Audio Show

High-End Audio Show 'The Sounds' Held
From the 22nd to Next Month 3rd
Featuring Bowers & Wilkins, Tannoy, McIntosh, and More

Lotte Department Store will hold the first-ever 'High-End Audio Show' at a department store.

Customers are examining high-end audio products at the Lotte Department Store main branch.
[Photo by Lotte Department Store].

On the 21st, Lotte Department Store announced that from August 22 to September 3, for 13 days, a total of 11 audio companies will participate in 'The Sounds,' the department store's first 'High-End Audio Show,' held at the main store's 9th-floor event hall and 8th-floor audio store.

They will showcase various popular models from 22 high-end audio brands including Bowers & Wilkins, Tannoy, McIntosh, and Sonus Faber. High-end audio, which pursues 'ultra-high sound quality' close to the original sound, has become one of the 'luxury tastes to enjoy at home' during the COVID-19 period, steadily increasing customer demand. From 2020 to last year, audio sales at the main store grew by an average of 30% annually over three years.

The main store explained that it has grown the high-end audio category over the past 10 years, establishing itself as the largest 'audio mecca' in Gangbuk. Starting with Bang & Olufsen in 2014, followed by Bose and ODE, and most recently bringing in the UK's top hi-fi audio brand Bowers & Wilkins in October last year, they completed the largest high-end audio store in a department store with about 100 pyeong (approx. 330 square meters). High-end audio aligns with Lotte Department Store’s direction as a leader in premium consumer goods and is being incubated as a new luxury product category. This is also why the main store planned a large-scale audio show that other department stores have not attempted.

Unlike most audio shows held domestically, which focused on the number of participating companies and scale and were simply displayed in exhibition halls, this event will showcase products through luxurious showroom spaces. Six showrooms will be decorated like actual living rooms reflecting each brand’s personality, allowing customers to comfortably appreciate and purchase the products. Ten imported lifestyle brands such as Fritz Hansen and ErgoSystem will also participate in the showroom design, presenting premium chairs, sofas, carpets, and more. Four premium listening rooms will be set up so customers can directly listen to and select the flagship products of each brand.

While unveiling new products for the first time in Korea, all products will be sold at special prices. Fine Audio’s 'F1-8S,' Simaudio’s 40th-anniversary models '680D' and '600I V2,' and Musical Fidelity’s 7th-anniversary model 'A1' will be revealed domestically for the first time through this audio show. The event will offer up to 30% discounts on about 100 products ranging from 2 million KRW to 100 million KRW. Representative products include Bowers & Wilkins’ '801 Signature,' the UK’s top hi-fi audio brand that even captivated The Beatles; Tannoy’s 'Westminster Royal GR,' known as the dream audio brand; and Sonus Faber’s 'Amati G5,' representing Italy.

In each brand’s showroom, demonstration events will be held where customers can listen to playlists recommended by famous classical and jazz columnists Yoon Yoonjong and Ryu Heeseong through top-tier audio systems. On September 1, an audio listening class by audio critic Oh Seungyoung, also known as the operator of the YouTube channel SamTube, will be held.

Lotte Department Store plans to regularize audio shows mainly at large stores such as the main store and Jamsil branch, starting with The Sounds, to establish Lotte Department Store as the 'No. 1 High-End Audio Destination' for customers seeking excellent sound.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.