Roland Opens Its First U.S. Store, and Puts a Shrine to the 808 at the Front Door
The instrument maker's 9,000-square-foot Meatpacking District flagship gives New York a dedicated DW drum showroom, a wall of BOSS pedals, and background music that changes with the weather.
Roland is opening its first standalone U.S. retail store, a 9,000-square-foot flagship at 414 West 14th Street in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, joining existing flagships in London and Tokyo. The space is split into zones for pianos, drums, guitars, synthesizers, and DJ and dance equipment, plus a section built around Roland Cloud, and it includes what the company calls the only dedicated DW drum showroom in the country alongside a wall dedicated to BOSS pedals and amplifiers.
The entrance is built around a dedicated room celebrating the TR-808 drum machine, the instrument that quietly shaped hip-hop, house, and pop production for four decades. An AI system called Roland Soundscapes generates ambient background music that responds to foot traffic, MIDI input, time of day, and weather, turning the store itself into a demo of what the brand's gear can do.
The store opens in early October, with free 30-minute workshops and personalized consultations planned to keep customers on the floor rather than just browsing. For a brand best known through the gear other people made famous, from the 808 to the Jazz Chorus amp, opening a store built around teaching people to use its instruments is a bet that experience sells harder than nostalgia alone.
Source: The FADER
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
