Leica’s main retail and customer service facility in London will move in February from the existing Bruton Place, Mayfair, location to a new flagship store in Duke Street, close to the busy Oxford Street shopping area and not far from Selfridge’s department store. The Oxford Street area is always crowded, attracting many wealthy shoppers — for some of whom even an M10-P could be an impulse purchase. In this respect, the Duke Street store will be a more fitting showcase for Leica products than the existing premises in a quiet backstreet.
For the first time in the UK, the new store will feature a Leica Gallery, similar to the ones we are familiar with in other world locations. It will also house the Leica Akademie programme. This includes a wide range of introductory and advanced courses and also one-to-one bespoke sessions.
To mark the opening of the new store on February 4, the Akademie is offering free public workshops from February 12 to 24. They will include taster experiences with selected camera systems and courses on special aspects of photography such as film, street portraiture and event/wedding coverage.
If you would like to take part in one of these Akademie sessions you can book here.
Below is Leica’s full press release on the store opening.
PRESS RELEASE
Leica Camera to open impressive new flagship store in Mayfair with first Leica Gallery in the UK and extensive Akademie programme
London, January 2019. Leica Camera is delighted to announce the opening of a larger flagship store in Duke Street, Mayfair on 4th February. The store is the new hub for those interested in seeing and creating great photography. Customers can experience the full range of Leica cameras and sport optics, alongside the opportunity to discuss product features and techniques with Leica’s in-store experts. The new store will also be home to the first Leica Gallery in the UK and the Leica Akademie photography training centre. Bringing the world of Leica under one roof, the Leica Store Mayfair will provide a 360 experience for photography amateurs, enthusiasts and professionals. Designed to focus on the customer experience, the new store will be the UK destination to learn about and experience the highest level of photography.
Leica, as one of the world’s most prestigious and respected camera manufacturers, has a unique heritage defined by over 100 years of innovative craftsmanship and knowledge, leading to the foundation of a loyal client base who appreciate the discreet design and hand-built nature of its products. Jason Heward, Leica UK Managing Director, explains, “For more than a century Leica has been inspiring creativity and helping people to become photographers. Our stores are destinations where we can connect on a deep experiential level through our galleries and our Akademie. You will come to the store to see great photography, or attend a workshop to discover how to take beautiful images. This is what Leica does and has always done. Leica is photography”.
One of the highly anticipated features of the Duke Street store is the first ever Leica Gallery to be established in the UK, which will exhibit work from some of the world’s photography greats. Exhibitions will feature celebrated photographic icons who have been dedicated Leica users for decades, alongside contemporary, up-and-coming photographers. The Leica Gallery will also host powerful collections of work from winners and participants from the renowned Leica Oskar Barnack Award competition, which is held annually. The new store will open with the first UK exhibition of the 2017 winner of Oskar Barnack Newcomer award, Sergey Melnitchenko.
The store will also be home to the Leica Akademie, which will offer an extensive schedule of photography workshops for photographers and enthusiasts of all skill levels (note: owning a Leica camera is not a prerequisite for attending a workshop – cameras are provided for attendees). Following in the footsteps of the original German Akademie, which dates back to 1934, the Leica Akademie offers a collection of workshops designed and curated to inspire and educate a new generation of photographers to help capture the ‘decisive moment’ through a Leica lens.
Courses will range from bitesize, 1-hour workshops aimed at beginners and enthusiasts looking to master the basics, to longer, more intensive experiences spread over several days and guest-hosted by Leica photographers and ambassadors. Whether it’s street photography, portraiture or even food photography that you’re looking to develop your skills in, there will be courses available for all. In addition, the Leica Akademie will be offering one-to-one, bespoke sessions.
In celebration of the new opening, the Leica Akademie will be offering free photography workshops to the public from 12th – 24th February. The exciting programme will include courses focusing on analogue photography, flat lay and styling, street portraiture, event and wedding photography – to name but a few – and a range of taster experiences with selected camera systems for those wanting to discover a particular Leica model.
Discover and sign up here:
https://www.leicastore-uk.co.uk/collections/duke-street-opening-week
I went looking for the location of this new store on Google Street View and all I got were horrible poor quality night shots. A sign of the times, perhaps?
I wish Leica UK well with the move to what should be a location with more footfall. I have never bought anything from a Leica Store in London or, indeed, elsewhere. As my Leica purchases are usually vintage items I have tended to buy from dealers who know their vintage Leicas such as Red Dot Cameras and Peter Loy.
The opening of the gallery is very much to be welcomed. Leica sets a lead among camera manufacturers with its support for photography per se. The Leica Akademie effort is also welcomed, although I don’t approve of calling the film photography course ‘analogue photography’. This is a term which was created after the introduction of digital photography to mean ‘not digital’ so that the youth of today could understand it. Perhaps its use here indicates the market at which it is aimed.
The big issue for me, of course, is that purchases from the UK may cease if tariffs are imposed after the ‘B’ thing happens, but such is life. In the distant past it was very difficult to get one’s hands on a Leica camera at all without a special import license.
William
Perish the thought in your last paragraph, William. The whole thing is such a B mess – in all senses of the abbreviation! – that it makes me glad I live in Denmark and in easy range of two Leica shops to go and drool in if nothing else!
As you know, William, I have never once mentioned the B word on Macfilos since I know that 50% of readers would disagree with any comment I cared to make. I try to steer well away from politics which, in general, has little to do with photography. That particular B word is very divisive, especially in B but, I suspect less so in I.