Written by Menswear Style in Interviews on the 23rd December 2021

Bravado is the leading global provider of consumer, lifestyle and branding services to recording artists and entertainment brands around the world. Part of Universal Music Group, the leader in music-based entertainment, Bravado represents artists in more than 40 countries and provides services including sales, licensing, branding, marketing and eCommerce. Their extensive global distribution network gives artists and brands the opportunity to create deeper connections with their fans through apparel, consumer packaged goods and unique experiences.

Open until January 2022, ‘Queen- The Greatest’ was recently opened in London to celebrate the band’s historic five decades of music. This pop-up store is designed to take you on a visual journey through one of the world’s most iconic bands' contributions to music, culture, and fashion. The shop features limited edition music releases, new product drops and exciting fashion collaborations, with each month of its three-month stint having a different theme: Music, Art & Design and Magic. The store takes visitors on a journey over 2 floors, from 70s thrift store (Freddie and Roger had a stall in Kensington Market), 80s iconic live performances and tours, 90s record store, 00s DVD homage through to 2010s tech concepts.

In a recent episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interviewed Keith Taperell, VP of Sales & Retail at Bravado about the new London Carnaby Street Queen pop-up store which celebrates the band's five decades. Our host Peter Brooker and Keith talked about the collaborative steps involved in opening a retail space with a band, what his daily work schedule looks like, the legacy of Carnaby, what Queen fans can expect when they visit, the possibility of taking the concept to other countries, the health of the music industry right now, and the latest exclusive Queen brand collaborations.

“The Queen pop-up store is there to celebrate a moment in time. It's there to celebrate five decades of Queen as a band. It's very much done as a collaborative effort with the band, we don't do anything in isolation, we are there to represent them. We're there to make sure that we honour their heritage and their legacy, so we want to make sure they're an integral part of this. We wanted to have a physical space where we could showcase where fans can be immersed in the world of Queen, and where they can buy a piece to take home, whether that's limited-edition vinyl or clothing from collaborations with other brands. We didn't want to make it exclusive, we wanted it to be as inclusive as possible. We also have a Queen online store for the pop-up, and when we did a limited-edition vinyl, we had 1000 units available in total. 500 were made available on the website and 500 at the physical store. That’s the best way we could make sure as many people as possible would have a chance of purchasing.”

This is a shortened transcribed edit of episode 155 of the MenswearStyle Podcast with Keith Taperell, VP of Sales & Retail at bravado.com. You can listen to the full version below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.

We sit down with Keith Taperell of Bravado which is part of Universal Music Group to talk about the new Queen Pop-Up Store in London's Carnaby Street.