Sonos has opened its first retail store.
The company’s flagship location — located at 101 Greene Street in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood — features seven listening rooms, each constructed with four layers of acoustic Sheetrock and a 2,000-pound steel-framed glass door. The 10- by 12-foot rooms let consumers listen to music from the company’s streaming partners within three different listening scenarios: the kitchen (a single speaker), the study (speaker pair), and the living room (home-theater setup).
One listening room, billed by Sonos as a “HiFi haven for audiophiles,” boasts a turntable and vinyl collection that demos the Sonos Connect and Connect: Amp.
The store’s Simple Set Up white-glove delivery service will offer local delivery, set up and product introductions for in-store purchases.
Sonos paid special mind to the store’s décor, outfitting the 4,200-square-foot space with hand-woven rugs and furniture from design partner Partners & Spade; a collection of cassette tapes owned by musician Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth; a series of New York music zines; and a portrait of local famed record producer Rick Rubin. Meanwhile, the back of the store hosts a 17- by 24-foot “Wall of Sound” art installation with 297 Sonos speakers.
The audio company is celebrating the launch with a series of promotional events, including happy hours, food tastings and live radio broadcasts.
