N

You're right about the show rooming issue. The brand financing the display and getting the sale somewhere else and still benefitting . With B&O ,as with a kitchen or bathroom purchase , the installation is as important as the product . People don't want to pay for this in some cases but ,with the exception of the V1 , the product is "plug and Play". The ideal customer is obviously the home integration buyer who doesn't want a totally itemised bill. Would the volumes be adequate considering wireless reduces the amount of chasing of cables etc?

its almost as if the strength of the branding is a victim of its own success with the customer assuming they are dealing directly with the brand? I think the validation process of the customer based on monthly targets as in the car market would be a mistake as it's more a relationship selling thing with us more humble B&O buyers ; a V1 and a Beolit will lead to an essence installation with me. We are planning our house remodel at the moment . But not a moment as my dealer has said to wait for it to develop!

Richard wrote:

I think this discussion started as an analysis as to why another B&O dealer has gone bust. It's obvious. Cash flow and margin, together with falling unit prices for B&O products.

Customers, or people who'd like to be customers, can bang on about the experience they want from a B&O showroom but who is funding this experience? A private individual who has mortgaged themselves to the hilt and whose only hope of getting a return is by making sales. Given that the sales have to be managed by a small number of staff, as that's all the franchisee can fund, then these have to be a low volume of high value sales for the business to work.

I've been buying high-end audio for over 35 years and have seen that market change to where outside B&O, the big retail players are by appointment businesses you'll never have heard of. Meridian's biggest dealer is Meridian Oxford, an appointment only business park outfit that provides six-figure cinemas to the Chipping Norton set. The biggest Linn dealer in the south is UHES - again, no shop, appointment only and in the north House of Linn - a townhouse with the door shut that you have to know is there.

These businesses thrive by providing a bespoke experience to people who will buy, rather than tyre kickers who come into hifi shops, bleed some poor shopkeepers investment on hours of demonstrations and then leave and go on eBay.

This is Apple's fault. "Showrooming" - looking in-store and buying online, Apple stores are company owned and are physical advertisements - they will get the sale from somewhere, anywhere and don't care if they get that sale from John Lewis or online. Hi-Fi shops, usually turning over under £500K, privately owned and with rent, rates and 3 or 4 staff to pay absolutely need the cash coming in through their till. The Linn and Meridian outlets I've identified make it clear that it is not about location, it's about reputation, expertise and providing a level of attention that a "shop", focussed on "passing trade" could ever provide. 

The future of mainstream AV is online. The future of high-end is by private consultation and B&O needs to decide where it sits. An Avant or BeoLab 5 is undeniably high-end and not in-store purchases and these are the sales privately owned dealers need to keep the lights on. A high-footfall location can therefore be a hinderance. Events, service, not "deals" or a high-profile retail site (that will be used just like an Apple store is) is the only way the privately owned stores can work. The company stores can have a different focus. 

You make a lot of valid points. Back in the day when I was in the biz, the worst thing in the world were the audiophool time wasters. You could tell them because they usually had a dog eared copy of the latest Absolute Sound or Stereophile stuffed in their back pocket, could whine on for hours and hours, wanted to listen to everything, in every combination, then never bought anything, or bought from another dealer.

By saying a freelander has the same amount of materials as an evoque is true with any brand, the evoque has better interior, drives better and I will admit it designed nice.

Buying a ford kuga is a different experience than buying a Range Rover, we drive to customers houses, businesses at any time to suit them, up to sometimes 200 miles away, spending hrs deciding spec for build dates, this builds relationships, also jlr customers are demanding with hectic lifestyles who want and deserve the best, so you have to go that the extra mile for their business and future business.

Buying a kuga is like buying a off the peg suit it is a different process and buying experience.even though you are still spending your hard earned money, it's just that it's the norm and mainstream.

When it comes to big ticket items the service is normally and should be top notch and that applies to any industry,cars, jewellery, furniture,hotels etc.

Every big designer brings out an affordable range or model, fashion names do it all the time, Versace at h&m is like play to B&o.

interesting reply,

I agree the Range Rover buyer is more like the bespoke B&O customer but friends who were buying a new Discovery at the same time as us ordering my wife's Kuga had a very similar purchase experience. The Evoque and the Range Rover are designed to optimise the personalisation experience and reduce haggling whilst optimising incremental earnings on parts that cost very little more to make for upgrades. We had problems ordering a factory-build Audi a few years back so prefer to get a car that's in the pipeline. (There are other things to occupy our time.) Our friends Discovery was in stock and the deposit allowance made it cheaper than used. No waiting list there...

i imagine the B&O equivalent to the RR is the wooden fret to be selected and the stands customise the installation but the potential for a configurator could expand i

Simonbeo wrote:

i imagine the B&O equivalent to the RR is the wooden fret to be selected and the stands customise the installation but the potential for a configurator could expand i

Astute comment, as the stand for the Avant 55" can be thought of as 25% the cost of the TV alone. I've always thought of B&O as being unique in the "options" available to the user. Brackets, stands, etc. And in Europe, even more options with internal hard disks, etc. 

Jeff wrote:

You make a lot of valid points. Back in the day when I was in the biz, the worst thing in the world were the audiophool time wasters. You could tell them because they usually had a dog eared copy of the latest Absolute Sound or Stereophile stuffed in their back pocket, could whine on for hours and hours, wanted to listen to everything, in every combination, then never bought anything, or bought from another dealer.

I think Play has been a disaster from the dealer perspective. There were too many products that had quality issues*, and B&O forces them to dedicate display space and inventory to something that's for sale everywhere**. From B&Os perspective, if they get the sale they're happy, but the dealers as you say spend time servicing tire kickers and have to maintain money tied up in stock. If the store is B&O owned, like an Apple temple, that's not as bad as it is for a franchise dealer. * I know one dealer who sold 4 V1-32s that got all of them back defective. ** I have two Play products, a pair of H6s and a Beolit 15, both bought at my nearest dealer (if you can call an hour and a half drive near). I went there to listen to them, and wasted his time, so I bought them there. Jeff

Beovirus victim, it's gotten to be too much to list!

Chris Townsend wrote:

The Beoplay wooden display stand costs dealers over £3,000!

 

 

How on earth can that ever make a return when new A9's are on EBay for £1,100!, and H6's can be had for £165

Holy carp! Where's the emoticon for fainting over dead with shock?

Not to mention that you can find apparently real A2s from China without boxes or documentation for dirt cheap.

Jeff wrote:

Holy carp! Where's the emoticon for fainting over dead with shock? 👻🌚💀

Not to mention that you can find apparently real A2s from China without boxes or documentation for dirt cheap.

Jeff

Beovirus victim, it's gotten to be too much to list!