Leica has levelled up its customer experience in Melbourne with a four-story flagship on Little Collins Street.“This is the first store in Australia featuring Leica’s new retail design and we have purposefully chosen to utilise a much larger space to ensure we could offer the entire Leica experience,” Leica’s managing director, Ryan Williams, told Inside Retail.Visitors will have space to sit in a café area, read from a library of photographic books, explore the Leica Gallery on level one, and extend their photographic knowledge via the Leica Akademie and Photo Studio spaces upstairs.The store was designed to reimagine the buying experience to be just that, an experience, for those looking to purchase one of the brand’s cameras, which range from $2790 to $16,000.Designing for inspiration and educationThe Leica Gallery features photographs taken by renowned Australian and international Leica photographers, and according to Williams, it was absolutely non-negotiable, installed and curated to give customers endless inspiration.“Photography is at the heart of all we do at Leica, and a printed photograph hanging on the wall is so important to see,” said Williams.“This space gives us the opportunity to showcase many local and also international photographers, and with an integrated bar, it is the perfect space to entertain the Leica community – the rooftop is a very nice addition for this purpose too,” he added.Leica has taken the advice of “show, don’t tell” to a new level –  the idea is that gallery visitors and potential camera converts will see just what is possible with a Leica camera, printed in larger formats on the wall. “With screens so predominant now, guests often have a very different experience seeing a photographic print,” explained Williams.But the new store format offers customers more than just inspiration, the fit-out equally prioritises education with the Leica Akademie classroom running regular photography workshops.“Customers love having the opportunity to learn from established Leica photographers, and this new space in addition to the Photo Studio, gives customers an experience we weren’t quite able to deliver in full before,” shared Williams.When asked if it was hard to create a store layout that would be welcoming to both camera novices and experts, Williams replied, “Not at all.” “The one thing that brings both amateur and professional photographers together is a love of photography, so that is our focus,” he stated.The investment goes both ways Leica’s renovation of the 120-year-old building on Little Collins Street was a timely and costly investment but it’s one the company believes its customers deserve.“Purchasing a Leica is a relatively considered purchase… A camera is something you buy with an intention to do something with it: take photographs,” Williams explained.“It’s not like some other items you buy just to have, so we see it as our responsibility to help ensure customers are learning how to get the most out of their Leica gear, and importantly, take better pictures.”To ensure the Little Collins Street flagship matched Leica’s vision to set a new retail standard, it tapped Bluline Projects for the build and Sidgreaves & Co for the shop fit – the opening of the store was two years in the making.“Generally, in a centre, the format is one level with divided spaces – having a stand-alone building opens so many opportunities for us to create different spaces that are more obviously separated,” Williams said.“For example, a customer may like to take some time quietly exploring an exhibition in the Leica Gallery without hearing what’s happening in another space,” he added.But while the store design and layout may be immaculate, Leica remains focused on the informational and educational elements with its Leica Akademie.“From a marketing perspective, Leica Akademie serves as an on-ramp for many customers as it may be the place they first get their hands on a Leica for a shoot,” explained Williams.“But to say we only offer Akademie for the purpose of potential sales would be incorrect – once someone buys a Leica, they often want to know how to expand on their knowledge of photography,” he added.The Akademie events allow customers to spend time with other like-minded Leica photographers, creating an educational and social environment.“Just last Friday in Sydney a customer said to me, ‘I just love the Akademie events and tours you’re doing, they’re just such a great way for us to meet other Leica people, and actually learn something along the way,’” Wiliams concluded.