Check Out Devialet’s Largest Flagship Store at Grand Hyatt Singapore
The French luxury audio brand redefines its retail space with a new Listening Room and an in-store DJ booth.
French audio engineering brand Devialet bolsters its presence in Asia Pacific with its largest flagship store at Grand Hyatt Singapore. In addition to housing the full range of products, from the iconic Phantom speaker to the new Gemini II wireless earbuds, the retail space debuts the Listening Room — you'll immediately notice the striking blue cube in the centre of the store, where visitors can experience the Devialet sound firsthand. In town to officiate the grand opening, CEO Jacques Demont takes us through the immersive space as well as introduces the new powerhouse amplifier Astra:
Congratulations on the opening of the Singapore flagship store! Why was Singapore chosen as the launchpad for the region?
Asia Pacific is an important region for us, and Singapore in particular has an appetite for music. There are a lot of music lovers here — it’s just part of the lifestyle — so it was the perfect location to debut a new concept with the in-store DJ booth. It’s the only one in the world, and my team has been fighting for it because we wanted to bring more life into the retail space, to host private concerts and other exclusive events during the evenings.
It’s very on-brand for Devialet.
Exactly. It’s our lifestyle. In other parts of the world, we have singers coming into our stores to put on special performances; all of them love the concept, and they love the sound that we deliver. It’s about using emotion to reinforce brand awareness.
What would be a good starting point for those looking to explore Devialet today?
The Phantom, definitely. It is the core of the company. I’ll share my own experience: about eight years ago, before I joined Devialet, I was having dinner with some friends at their flat in Paris. I noticed a singular object in the corner, so I asked my friend what it was. He put his hand on it and said: “This is my Phantom”, before proceeding to play Guns N’ Roses on it. I was so impressed by the sound quality that I went and bought the Phantom I the very next day.
Wow.
I’ve only had this kind of emotional reaction three times in my life. The first was when I got my first iPhone, which is something most people can relate to; I was super impressed with the technology. The second was driving the Tesla back in 2013, because for me electric cars are a revolution. And third was the Phantom. You are proud to have this object in your flat, to share it with friends and have a good time. This is why I am now leading Devialet. From the Phantom, you can then explore something more technical like the Astra or trendy like the Mania.
Besides cutting-edge acoustics, Devialet products are known for their beautiful aesthetics. What do you consider to be good design?
For me, good design has to remain relevant over different years. It is simple and clean. I like to go back to the Astra when talking about design because it embodies one of my favourite mottos from Devialet: “Honour the past, build the future”. Our [co-founder and Head of Design] Emmanuel Nardin who developed the Astra was inspired by pop art, so it looks contemporary while still containing all of our 250 patents that have been updated with new technologies.
What is your favourite thing to listen to on the Astra?
“Interstellar” by Hans Zimmer. I love it because it was one of our references when developing the Astra. That’s how we educate ourselves: by actively listening to the right music, we can see the work that goes into the evolution of the product. You know, music lovers are more often than not techy; they love to play with the applications and adapt details to create their own personal sound. Our products allow them to do so. They are inspirational and different from anything else on the market.
Speaking of, what are next-gen audiophiles looking for in their equipment?
When I gave my daughter the Mania, I wasn’t sure if she’d like it. She thought it was nice, but when she played her music on it she was surprised by how strong the sound was. She only had those smaller speakers before, so to hear such power coming out of the portable Mania was impressive. This is the Devialet experience. They’re also interested in technology like AI, which we already have in our products; not many are aware of that. Finally, they want connection, they want to be part of a family. When we did the collaboration with Fendi last year, people were so proud of it, especially in Asia. Because it’s about two brands who share the same passion for craftsmanship, whether it’s music or fashion, coming together to create something new. It was the perfect exchange.
We love the Fendi X Devialet Mania collaboration. Can we expect more of such partnerships in the future?
Of course. And talking about collaboration, I would like to mention our longstanding partnership with Opéra de Paris, which celebrates their 150th anniversary this year. We need to develop these partnerships where we share the same vision and ambition, so last month we invited the top 100 clientele of Balmain to a private dinner at the Palais Garnier, and had one of the Opéra de Paris singers perform with 20 Phantoms behind her. It was amazing.
