Re-Tales

Often in these pages (and in Industry Update), we have reported ways various brands have experimented with the traditional hi-fi–retail formula. An example: the single-company dealership, adopted most recently by the Vervent Audio Group, parent company to Focal and Naim.

The latest to set up a single-brand dealership is Gryphon Audio Designs, which is preparing to open a "mono-brand" showroom in Los Angeles. Gryphon's implementation, though, is a radical departure from previous experiments in one respect: It's in the Pacific Design Center (PDC), a large (1.6 million square feet) multiuse facility that caters to the design community, including professionals in interior design, architecture, and the arts, as well as design enthusiasts. The idea is to give Gryphon products more exposure to architects, designers, and design enthusiasts. The PDC is not accessible to the broader public. Assuming all goes well, the Gryphon store will be open by the time this issue hits newsstands (footnote 1).

Opening a US showroom makes sense because, as Gryphon's director of US sales and marketing Anthony Chiarella told Stereophile, in recent years the US has become Gryphon's second-largest market. The L.A. store will remain the only Gryphon "monostore" in the United States, though plans are in the works for Gryphon-only showrooms in other key markets, in cities with a concentration of high-end retailers in other luxury categories. The goal is to have 8–10 Gryphon stores worldwide within two or three years. The US was first because Gryphon self-distributes here via the aforementioned US subsidiary; that made setting up this arrangement simpler than it would be in markets that rely on independent distributors.

Does this mean that Gryphon is moving away from traditional dealerships? Not at all. "We want to be more important to brick-and-mortars, the top dealers in the country who support Gryphon products and other brands." They are not looking to expand the dealer network, either; Chiarella thinks the US is well-covered. "We want the dealers we have to be successful." Gryphon is "not going to shift our attention or our support away from the fantastic dealers who helped us grow the brand."

Why L.A., and why the PDC specifically? These choices put the Gryphon showroom in close proximity to other luxury goods. The PDC is home to a broad range of showrooms from fashion and jewelry to many home-décor, lifestyle, and design-related businesses: furniture, lighting, tableware, etc. Also in the neighborhood: music recording studios including the Village, Sunset Sound, and Paramount and iconic music venues including the Troubadour, Whisky a Go Go, and the Roxy. A well-appointed, homelike high-end audio showroom seemed a good fit. This is consistent with the goal of cross-selling Gryphon (and with it high-end audio generally) to audiences beyond audiophiles, including well-heeled consumers and the trades: the PDC's architects and designers, who can propose such products to their clientele.

The idea for the store came from Joseph Cali, a passionate, well-connected Gryphon dealer (and former customer; footnote 2) who is also involved in the music business. Cali will own and operate the showroom. He's a huge fan of the brand—as is his wife, singer-songwriter Lori Lieberman. Cali also already had office space at the PDC, for his custom-installation business, Joseph Cali Systems Design, Inc. In the eight-or-so years since he started that business, he became a Gryphon owner and fan—a Gryphonista, as Gryphon enthusiasts are called—and eventually became a dealer. He sold out of his home in Calabasas for a while. Much earlier—even as he was making a mark as an actor—he was working at Audio Exchange in NYC, which eventually became Stereo Exchange, which is still in business today.

Gryphon Audio specified certain design elements for the showroom buildout. "They want a certain look, ... and I was totally on board with that," Cali said. His experience in the custom-installation business helped him oversee the showroom's construction and buildout. Cali will own and operate the business. "It was a very comfortable arrangement for them to help me finance the construction—for which I will reimburse them. Then I am responsible as the sole owner, which is what I really wanted. I pay the monthly lease and the utilities." He plans to continue his successful custom-installation business.

As I noted previously, the PDC is not open to the public, as, say, a shopping mall is. It is accessible to those with an appointment, so the showroom will be appointment-only. And there will be foot traffic: PDC-based professionals and members of the public who attend special events. Cali and Gryphon plan to host some themselves: press events, listening parties, product launches for Gryphon gear, and so on. Other PDC tenants will visit, with clients in tow. There's a 100-seat screening room in the PDC, and to get to it, you have to walk past the Gryphon store. Cali plans to use the big display window in front to pique the interest of passersby. "It draws you as you go by. You're like, 'What is this?' This is where I'm hoping to have people make appointments who never really thought about" high-end audio.

During our phone conversation, Cali spoke with enthusiasm about this opportunity. It marks a welcome return to his roots. After selling components for a time for Cello, the Mark Levinson brand from the 1980s and '90s, he hasn't been involved much with two-channel systems. Cali's business was mainly with clients doing 40,000ft² houses with TVs, shades, lighting, and built-in speakers.

"It's such a personal thing for me. I'm so excited about this," Cali said. "Two-channel is truly my heart. This is my heart."

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Footnote 1: Sound familiar? That's because in 2019, Cali assembled and promoted an all-Gryphon room inside Joseph Cali Systems, his custom-installation business. Now he is opening a separate Gryphon-only dealership.

Footnote 2: In his younger days, Cali was, also an actor of note: His most recognizable role was as Joey, the best friend of John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever.