I would rather not see this forum degenerate into a picture board. Please elaborate a bit more on whatever you have to say.

Its this forum that scares off new customers?

Some would suggest its selling AV equipment at very premium prices in todays world, especially those beset by sub standard software and a lack of consistent iconic designs might really the problem.

Negativity only comes with problems.

But of course, they've done nothing wrong.

Please do call the CEo and tell him he is wrong to describe the company in a crisis.

Millemissen wrote:

Carolpa wrote:

You mean that you are deaf, blind and are in denial that this forum is a part of: "is Bang & Olufsen in trouble"?

This forum is slowly turning into something that scares B&O newcomers away from B&O.

But maybe that is what the dedicated crepe hangers want!

 

MM

Given the issues with too many B&O products lately, if this forum scares off potential buyers perhaps that's good, for them if not for B&O.

However,

one shouldn't puff up two unanswered emails here if something is about to be fixed with a software update for a new product.

10% on 20 cents….

B&O’s problems are all self-inflicted and amplified by what is known as the “Intellectual Yet Idiot” (IYI) Political Class at B&O:-

1.    It kept making products the same way for years past its sell-by date.

2.    It failed to change with the times quickly enough and kept its old irrelevant ways.

3.    Manufacturing process may have been up there but the IYIs failed spectacularly to understand the morphing nature of the beast.

4.    The Political class has hung on to too much product R&D (over-development) without much real and practical research. Large loudspeakers – yes, plenty, the rest – no or limited.

5.    Which follows on to that there has been a hang-on to too much mechanized gizmo style over practical workable and functioning substance (software)

6.    Disastrous in-roads into Telephones when partnership with Nokia (at the zeitgeist of time) could have been more profitable?

7.    Failure to move products to a cost effect work platform (Far East) soon enough.

8.    An over-reaction to make high quality BT mono-speakers. Great…needed but man cannot live on BT mono speakers alone.

9.    A move to tie Dealerships into to glossy $150k store face-lifts when the B&O books would have clearly indicated in a clear timeframe the exact opposite (IYIs thinking glossy stores make sales alone). Sure if your business sales are outstripping production capacity, move up-market and discriminate/differentiate (Rolex). If not, hunker-down and re-think - quickly and clearly.

10.Make a state-of-the-art outlier-product loudspeakers for the $80k and $30k segments with zero support? Hand-over that peripheral business to the 3rd party Streamer/DAC market with no fight or clear business message to the so-called audiophile community?

11.Finally, back to the IYI Political Class. Chairman of the Board – up to his eyebrows in Danske Bank corruption and seems to have resigned from everywhere he had fingers in pies – except B&O. Open/revolving door for same-type sycophants with fancy job-titles, designer eyeware and non-jobs? How much has this Company really been held back?

12.This Forum may not have helped as a true sounding board for the archaic B&O golden years (Jenson & Lewis multi-CD spinners with Blu-ray etc….ditto vertical turntables. I mean? Same old ideas revamped).

People often say that B&O cannott compete? Why not? Look at the newcomers….Auralic, PS Audio(?), Mytek, Schlitt, Dutch & Dutch, Kii, dCS and many others can make state-of the art products that work properly and sound very very good. Try and buy an Auralic G2 component without waiting 2-4 weeks? So there is a strong business out there if you talk Hi-Fi and there is a very strong (albeit competitive) market out there for high-end Sonos-class gear. It is just that B&O, its Board and its internal political class have been too arrogant to change their internal business models – nether mind the external business model need.

However, where this Forum Board can help…….is to move away from its own inward perception of holding on to the good’o’days of Jensen and Lewis and 6-diskers and look out there to what is currently in state-of-the-art. Boxey but SOTA. Push in whatever way we can by asking if such a product has a real market chance and if can be B&O-ized (sans the software failures and the margin-eating mechanisms).

B&O NEEDS to implode in on itself, crush-out the profit-absorbing political class and re-invest small scale with true hi-fi/high-end gear built/designed by Danish engineers and compete with the Companies mentioned above. It will be the next significant company milestone.

/RANT mode OFF

Mr 10Percent wrote:

10% on 20 cents….

B&O’s problems are all self-inflicted and amplified by what is known as the “Intellectual Yet Idiot” (IYI) Political Class at B&O:-

1. It kept making products the same way for years past its sell-by date.

2. It failed to change with the times quickly enough and kept its old irrelevant ways.

3. Manufacturing process may have been up there but the IYIs failed spectacularly to understand the morphing nature of the beast.

4. The Political class has hung on to too much product R&D (over-development) without much real and practical research. Large loudspeakers – yes, plenty, the rest – no or limited.

5. Which follows on to that there has been a hang-on to too much mechanized gizmo style over practical workable and functioning substance (software)

6. Disastrous in-roads into Telephones when partnership with Nokia (at the zeitgeist of time) could have been more profitable?

7. Failure to move products to a cost effect work platform (Far East) soon enough.

8. An over-reaction to make high quality BT mono-speakers. Great…needed but man cannot live on BT mono speakers alone.

9. A move to tie Dealerships into to glossy $150k store face-lifts when the B&O books would have clearly indicated in a clear timeframe the exact opposite (IYIs thinking glossy stores make sales alone). Sure if your business sales are outstripping production capacity, move up-market and discriminate/differentiate (Rolex). If not, hunker-down and re-think - quickly and clearly.

10. Make a state-of-the-art outlier-product loudspeakers for the $80k and $30k segments with zero support? Hand-over that peripheral business to the 3rd party Streamer/DAC market with no fight or clear business message to the so-called audiophile community?

11. Finally, back to the IYI Political Class. Chairman of the Board – up to his eyebrows in Danske Bank corruption and seems to have resigned from everywhere he had fingers in pies – except B&O. Open/revolving door for same-type sycophants with fancy job-titles, designer eyeware and non-jobs? How much has this Company really been held back?

12. This Forum may not have helped as a true sounding board for the archaic B&O golden years (Jenson & Lewis multi-CD spinners with Blu-ray etc….ditto vertical turntables. I mean? Same old ideas revamped).

People often say that B&O cannott compete? Why not? Look at the newcomers….Auralic, PS Audio(?), Mytek, Schlitt, Dutch & Dutch, Kii, dCS and many others can make state-of the art products that work properly and sound very very good. Try and buy an Auralic G2 component without waiting 2-4 weeks? So there is a strong business out there if you talk Hi-Fi and there is a very strong (albeit competitive) market out there for high-end Sonos-class gear. It is just that B&O, its Board and its internal political class have been too arrogant to change their internal business models – nether mind the external business model need.

However, where this Forum Board can help…….is to move away from its own inward perception of holding on to the good’o’days of Jensen and Lewis and 6-diskers and look out there to what is currently in state-of-the-art. Boxey but SOTA. Push in whatever way we can by asking if such a product has a real market chance and if can be B&O-ized ( sans the software failures and the margin-eating mechanisms).

B&O NEEDS to implode in on itself, crush-out the profit-absorbing political class and re-invest small scale with true hi-fi/high-end gear built/designed by Danish engineers and compete with the Companies mentioned above. It will be the next significant company milestone.

/RANT mode OFF

In my view, there is a strong causality between revenue / sales growth

and the product quality perception by the customer, indicated by star-rating in Apple App Store.

Or is it just a correlation or pure coincidence?

It would be interesting how the B&O leadership team interprets these development. 

I didn’t really expect my OP to lead to all these observations about B&O! I certainly wanted to highlight a problem with their online customer service.

My refund finally came through today. 

I ended up buying a Ruark Audio R5. It’s excellent. 

Over and out. 

Your OP coincided with their latest results, which were horrible.

I guess that event broadened the scope of the discussion here.

Forester1 wrote:

I didn’t really expect my OP to lead to all these observations about B&O! I certainly wanted to highlight a problem with their online customer service.

My refund finally came through today. 

I ended up buying a Ruark Audio R5. It’s excellent. 

Over and out.