The Vélizy page has been turned for Hanlet pianos. This more than a century old company – its history began in Belgium in 1866 – had been present in Vélizy since 1969. It has been established since summer 2017 in the industrial area of Buc, in a 2,100 m2 building in which it stores 600 pianos. The workshop was enlarged for the occasion. The company – which sells new or used devices, luxury or more modest – has separated from ten employees but still has 23 employees. Sold to investors, the ex-premises of Vélizy, along the A86, will soon host a project for a mega veterinary clinic.
“We suffered the economic crisis and the end of our collaboration with Steinway which had lasted since 1929 in France. But activities are starting up well, ”testifies Franck Hanlet, the last heir to the founding family. Hanlet has just signed, in mid-November, with Italian pianos Fazioli, Herbie Hancok’s favorite brand, to distribute them in France. It will also integrate them into its concert rental offer, one of the strong points of the house.
But the most promising, without doubt, is the launch of the “Art Edition” offer. “The piano is considered today as an object of art which must enter the interiors of the most beautiful residences”, confides Franck Hanlet. To do this, the company is in contact with interior designers and the big names in decoration. It has already been present at the international Arts and Objects fair in Villepinte in September 2017 but also, in October, at the Salon des Mariages in order to attract wedding planers who like to offer the piano as a wedding gift.
Hanlet already has some nice moves to his credit in this high-end area. In 2014, it delivered a piano to the “Louis XIV” castle of Louveciennes, the most expensive private residence in the world, sold for € 275 million to an investor in the Middle East. In the past, it has also endowed the yachts or the residences of a few very wealthy such as the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, but also those of Jean Todt and Carla Bruni.
However, the company refuses to be equated only with luxury and wants to give back the taste to music. “We also welcome families and teachers with piano rentals starting at € 39 and purchases of classical acoustic devices from € 1,800 including tax. Moreover, our premises can be visited free of charge by the public ”, affirms Franck Hanlet who, as soon as he has five minutes, sits behind a keyboard to play a few notes.
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