well said !

Well done Lee,

Its always hard closing down, but you have to be realistic.

Having a business is about putting food on the table and not just indulging a hobby.

I had a buisness for 9 years, working myself to death and just making ends meet. I took a good look at ny buisness and stopped.

Best decision I ever made, saved my marrige and gave me a beter relationship with my kids.

After 2 years I started a completly new buisnes with a friend, and its going great.

Look ahead and not back, your best chances are in front of you !

best wishes,

Ken

9 LEE wrote:

Some people I thought were good friends have deserted me (as I'm clearly no longer useful) with zero contact from the day I closed the doors, and some people I thought were just acquaintances have really stepped up and proved they're good people when you need them. It's funny how people show their true colours when the time comes...

This is so true. I've learned this myself over the years.

I have a "business partner" now where it's strictly business (he used to be a friend). He reminds me in no uncertain terms that "I absolutely do not care about you, just remember that" and I can't get rid of him. It's almost mental torture. To see someone you regard as a friend, you choose to set up in business, become so spiteful, is incredible.

One lesson I've learned is that friends do not make good business people or partners. Worse, sometimes people really believe their contribution is significant when it's actually tiny. Hence the arguments.

9 LEE wrote:

coming to terms that 12 years of my life working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, has come to nothing.

I have to pick up on this, Lee - it hasn't come to nothing. In those 12 years you spread the B&O word, made friends and, most importantly, set many people up with high quality, superb condition used B&O - me included.

Yes, it is very sad that it has come to an end but you should be very proud of what you achieved in those 12 years.

9 LEE wrote:

It's easy to get negative about B&O - especially when you really, in your heart of hearts, want them to do well. We're here as fans of the brand, on a forum about B&O, after all.

Back to the closure of LifeStyle AV giving a 'boost' to other resellers and Authorised Dealers though, I don't really know.  I suppose it must have, but only by a small amount as we weren't turning over much at all towards the end. It fell off a cliff.

I'm still sad it ended up the way it did, and re-reading this thread made me a bit misty-eyed. I cannot tell you how hard it's been over the last couple of months, just coming to terms that 12 years of my life working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, has come to nothing.  It annoys me that doing it well, and doing it properly, wasn't viable.  I suppose it's the same in many businesses. Cut corners, save money, stay in business.

However, I console myself in the belief that it's about the journey.

I've had an absolutely brilliant time - and if you'd have said to me twelve years ago (when I had nothing) that I'd end up again with nothing, and shown me what I'd done, who I'd met, where I'd travelled, the cars, the holidays, the great parties, the trips to Struer, the wonderful times - I'd have taken it in a heartbeat.   So, no regrets.

I'll always have some B&O in the house, but not as much as I used to.  A BeoSound 2 is on my wish-list, and some Lab 5's at a decent price - but my next TV will most likely be a Loewe. It'll be strange not having a Beo4 in my hand though.

I'm still sad I never got chance to do Loewe, but the demise of the B&O side was so rapid, and so severe, the pressure on establishing it would have been too much. A great product, nice people (Jan-Nel at Harrods is a great guy if you're in there anyone) and sensibly priced.

As for my next move... I can say with some certainty that my future no longer lies in AV. The market is changing so rapidly I'd find it too hard to predict, and aligning myself with the fortunes of one brand now makes me recoil.... I've been 'burned'.

I must move forward though. I'm lucky I've had some great people around me, who are still there. Keith, Steve (Soundsheavenly), Peter, Jeff, Matt (ex-LifeStyle) are all people I talk to on a daily or weekly basis, who have remained close and supportive. Aside from two or three official dealers I've heard nothing from the dealer network, or head office, or Struer. No emails, no phone calls, nothing.

Some people I thought were good friends have deserted me (as I'm clearly no longer useful) with zero contact from the day I closed the doors, and some people I thought were just acquaintances have really stepped up and proved they're good people when you need them. It's funny how people show their true colours when the time comes...

You live and learn, and you never stop learning.

I'm very glad I've met who I have here on BeoWorld, and through LifeStyle AV.  I've made some great friends out of people who are far too good for me!

Lee

 

 

I know what you mean about hearing from people (or not) when you move on...  if you find yourself 'ooop North in York (Tue - Fri) or Mcr, let me know and we can have a beer or two and compare notes as ex B&O blokes.

You continued support for this forum speaks volumes, btw.

Lifestyle AV was more than just a shop. It was a place where you could pick up interesting and unusual things (such as my Beomaster 3400) and see things you had never before encountered in the flesh (such as Lee's prized Beovox 2500 cubes). It was also a place you could ring for advice on stuff you hadn't bought there or simply because you felt like chatting about B&O. It will be very sadly missed, and only Bremdal in Struer strikes me as remotely similar. B&O has been very silly to alienate and lose such a hardworking brand ambassador.

Lee

I personally  have a great deal to thank-you & Matt for and you should be proud of what you've achieved.

From my POV, I first encountered B&O in 1988 at a (then) girlfriends house. Her father had a big (for the times) CRT B&O TV that had a picture quality that blew me away. I remember watching the film "For all Mankind" late at night, and just being mesmerised by the quality of reproduction. I promise myself that "one day" i'd own one of those TV's ...

It took another 20 years until I could afford my own setup (!) but over the last 4 years you & Matt have supplied a BV11, BL18's and a BL19. Paired with a BS Moment I have a beautiful and great sounding setup that's a joy to watch and to listen to. I will keep it as long as I can.

On the legacy of LIfeStyle AV, creating something from nothing is a rare gift. I started my own business with some pals 17 years ago, and today we employ over 75 folk, and afford a respected position in our industry. Our success has been built on the hard work of our team over the years, but also some shrewd steering on our part. You need a great combination of "head, heart and hands" to make any business work - and clearly you had all three covered with ease.

Doing great work, with people you like, and making a living should not be mutually exclusive - and i'm sure having done it once, you'll find the magic formula of all three once again very soon.

Thanks again & best of luck

Tom

I am saddened with this news. B&O just lost one of its greatest proponents. 

Lee, I Just wanted to wish you you all the best in your new ventures. 

With the warmest regards from a cold Canada,

O.

Lee,

Can I add my best wishes to you. I'm really sad that you have had to close Lifestyle, but obviously the best thing to do under the circumstances. Without you I would not have bought my Avant 32RF, which I still enjoy every day in the knowledge that my next television will not now be from B&O. 

Definitely  the end of an era!

Neil.  

I second Peter's statement and would like to thank Lee and Matt for what they did for the B&O brand.

Looking back at the early days of BeoWorld with Steve and Peter, and the new direction of BeoWorld as Lee took over, we should nominate Lee for president and CEO of B&O. He could have sorted out B&O IMHO 😁

Roger