I am currently returning (by train) from the annual shareholders meeting at Bang & Olufsen in Struer. Christian and I went there together with a friend, Brian (a fellow economist and B&o lover).

The day started early, by train from Copenhagen central station at 7.50. We arrived at Struer train station at 12.20, so we had plenty of time to discuss B&o's situation, equipment and life in general. After a short stop at the local pizza-house, we stated looking for a cab to take us to the Farm. None were in sight, but shuttle-busses from B&O drove from the Struer Museum and the Farm, fortunately it picked us up.

At the Farm 3 cars were lined up, the Aston Martin DBS, the usual Audi A8 and an Audi A4. Inside Jens Peter Zinck gave a nice presentation of the Automotive business area, he made some jokes about young people (us) spending heavily on alloy wheels and other assesories, but expensive audiosystems for cars were not available until b&o entered the marked (the point were a bit misplaced, since the wheels on my 1984 WV Polo are the original steel rims and very rusty, and Brian and Christian don't own a car).

After the presentation it was time to look at some cars. The Aston was the most sought after and only had room for one listener, so we opted for the classic A8, and as always, we were impressed. Don't ever consider buying an Audi without the sound system.

We just had time for a quick tour around the concept shop and the beoliving installation before we went to Struer Museeum by bus. Christian had already been there and guided us brilliantly around the exposition. All the pictures will be on a Google gallery when I return home to a faster internet connection, so be patient.

Most interesting was that we got to play with a Beolink 7000 (I had never seen one of those up close) and a AV 9000 television with the mechanical curtain in front of the picture tube.

A full Beosystem 8000 was very interesting to see too, and they also had a white Beomaster 6000 (4 channel) and a white Beomaster 3000 (the early version). All in all very impressive.

The annual shareholders meeting was held in the gymnasium of Struer High School, in the foyer a white Beovision 9 (only the speaker cloth was white, and a white pair of Beolab 9s, and a Beovision 9000, the finish on the 9000 didn't look up to standards, but it was probably a prototype.

Worming guided the meeting precisely and promptly. Some remarks were made by a shareholder about the incentive package given to the managing directors, but unless you are into Corporate Governance, I'll spare you for the details. Worming stressed B&O's dedication to making audio/visual products, and that product launches had to come more often in the future. The most interesting part was the presentation of next year's new products. The Beosound 5 was covered by a cloth on the picture we were shown, but a rectangular shape in one end and a half-circle could be seen in the other end. We also saw a picture of the new bigger Beovision 4 with a Beolab 10 below, the speaker looked very small mounted below such a massive 100'inch television. We will also see a 40 inch Beovision 8 (looks nice) and a much anticipated Beovision 7-40 with blue-ray. Worming told, that B&O had misunderstood the marked and waited too long before introducing bigger bv8s. A 26 inch screen is not big enough anymore.

Well, that is all for now I hope you enjoy. Revisions and additions will be made later on, and I'll upload pictures when I return to a faster internet connection

Best regards

Chr.