Is it only me or are there others out there who feel that B&O has lost the plot completely? I'm amazed at their new "audio product" launch. The company is not doing well, it's dealers are not doing well. More and more main line products are getting discontinued/outdated and instead of replacing them, (eg BS5 or BSE) they are launching new headphones? They've just started with NL and still a lot of work needs to be done in this field. But B&O is busy working on a pair of headphones. It's obvious that the new CEO doesn't understand the spirit of the company and is only interested in making his own name by promoting his brain child - Beoplay.
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Has B&O lost the plot?
103 replies
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I feel the same!
Regarding the Beoplay brand and the upcoming new headphones:
How can the products of the sub brand be more expensive as the mothership B&O?
You're right: The CEO just wants to do some wellness to his ego and nothing more... this could be easily seen with the primitive marketing videos B&O tried with the new CEO and e.g. the iron man runner... just embarassing.
I still bet that I can do a much better job as a CEO at Bang & Olufsen and hey guys: I dont' need his salary ;-)
I still bet that I can do a much better job as a CEO at Bang & Olufsen and hey guys: I dont' need his salary ;-)
TWG you tell us that over and over and over. Instead of telling us that you'd do a better job, let us know *how* you'd do a better job, bearing in mind that the economies of scale aren't as flexible at B&O than they are at, say, Sony and remembering that B&O has an expensive dealer network to look after, who expect to make certain margins from their products.
I agree that the current high-end product range needs updating, specifically the BeoSound 5 Encore. However, B&O has been in need of reference headphones for some time after discontinuing the Form 1 nearly a decade ago. It seems to me that the reasoning for this focus on lower end products such as headphones is due to a changing economy and lifestyle. Fewer people have the money to spend on $10,000 - $20,000 pairs of speakers and $20,000 televisions. Many younger professionals cannot afford a home, let alone a spacious flat. These new B&O customers are upwardly mobile and listen to their music and watch movies on iPhones and iPads. The concept of a home stereo or theater system is alien to them.
Well if you visit my local store you would come out with a rosy must work harder feeling, but if you had come with me today to Harrods you would have come away with all of these negative feelings that Paul W was always complaining about.What a perfect opportunity to retail B&O with a constant huge customer through put, but I'm actually ashamed to say I spent about 10 minutes of my time away from my son demoing a few products for some Americans just moving into London. Eventually I had to move on and they were swallowed up with aplomb by the excellent staff of Loewe. The LG and Samsung staff were also All the time the manager propped himself up on a desk surfing the net. His female helper almost knocked my 110 kgs off my feat in her headlong rush to answer her phone. It's not just some of the products which I do have my concerns about! Madness in one of the worlds premier shops, if not the actually the best.H3 yes but I think they need some feminine colours, H6 and I know I haven't tried them on, but if you are going to walk round in them with your Iphone etc like they are designed for, you would surely want ANR! The competition of established brands have just that.
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How can the products of the sub brand be more expensive as the mothership B&O?
they aren't. All the earphones have been Play branded for some time
H3 yes but I think they need some feminine colours, H6 and I know I haven't tried them on, but if you are going to walk round in them with your Iphone etc like they are designed for, you would surely want ANR! The competition of established brands have just that.
From all your posts you clearly want ANR, but not everyone does and personally I would rather headphones where the development money has been spent on sound, and then build quality.
The BOSE make me feel sick after a while, and the idea of walking around whilst completely blocking out the people, traffic around me sounds horrible, and probably a bit dangerous.
Well if you visit my local store you would come out with a rosy must work harder feeling, but if you had come with me today to Harrods you would have come away with all of these negative feelings that Paul W was always complaining about.What a perfect opportunity to retail B&O with a constant huge customer through put, but I'm actually ashamed to say I spent about 10 minutes of my time away from my son demoing a few products for some Americans just moving into London. Eventually I had to move on and they were swallowed up with aplomb by the excellent staff of Loewe. The LG and Samsung staff were also..
I have a suspicion that B&O are looking to eradicate the franchise model altogether. They know that many stores are a bad ambassador for the brand - and not only do they have more control over staff performance, they will also be able to get rid of the "middle man" - aka "the fanchisee" and take more profit from every sale...
That said, I'm sure Harrods is company run - so feel free to name and shame, I'm sure B&O would thank you for it !
Lee
That being the case, how come Monster (in conjunction with Dr Dre) have sold literally millions of pairs of their "Beats" headphones at £200+ ?
You answered your own question Lee. Dr Dre and the Monster brand is far far more in with the younger tech savvy crowd than the fuddy-duddy B&O brand where these products are aimed.
You remember how you described the judges who decide which brand is 'super cool'? Sadly the target audience for the BeoPlay products doesn't regard B&O in this area at this price point, in my opinion. I don't mind being proved wrong though!
Has B&O lost the plot?Lost the plot years ago and sadly may never recover.....TM go now.
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