I remember as a reseller screaming and shouting for an iPod playing device. I was given a little cable and a BS1 to sell instead, so B&O sort of missed the point. I also remember beign told that when Sony and Pioneer were trumpeting the virtues of HD and B&O were only just 'HD ready' (whatever the hell that meant... :) ) that we lost soooooo many potential sales.

 - Bose stole the iPod player market

 - Sony & Pioneer stole the HD market

It wasn't that people didn't want to pay for it - they wanted these products - I think there is a lesson to learn here. Listen to your customers!

joeyboygolf wrote:

folkdeejay wrote:

True enough - the new direction is always the right one.   Lets hope its third time lucky, and you're not interveiwing your 4th CEO in 18 months time !

All sounds positive though, I wish Tue all the best, and look forward to seeing/hearing the results.

 

 

The problem is that good'ol Tue will have buggered off long before he has to live with the consequenences of the changes he will make .

That is the way to get on in the world.

As a long serving employee of a Dutch mutltinational company, I have lived through several of these guys and heard all the speeches.

 In around 2 years or so, at the interview for his next highly lucrative appointment, he will be able to talk about all the "progressive" changes that he was able to make at B&O. The fact that the company is no better off for these changes will not even be mentioned!

Onwards to interview number 4 ........

 

How very true this statement is! In my years of running businesses, including one in consumer electronics I have rather come to the conclusion that if one can appoint a CEO or MD that doesnt completely ruin the business, its actually been  a good appointment! because in reality thats what most do and very adept at the speil one hears time and time again.

Best of luck, I do however have a suspicion that external market forces will dictate if B&O can survive in its present form,

Apple are dictating the future of home entertainment more and more these days , with the new mac pro and mac mini to be revealed in July along with 10.7 lion they're ditching dvd's and cd's and bringing out their own tv's just in time for xmas. Google it , there's loads of well informed pundits out there. who will confirm it for you.

Can bno compete ? 

Flappo wrote:

Apple are dictating the future of home entertainment more and more these days , with the new mac pro and mac mini to be revealed in July along with 10.7 lion they're ditching dvd's and cd's and bringing out their own tv's just in time for xmas. Google it , there's loads of well informed pundits out there. who will confirm it for you.

Can bno compete ? 

I agree about apple, what intrigues me though is the CEO spending tme visiting the dealers to get their perspective on the situation with the management team spending time in the stores. Sounds good doesnt it, grass roots stuff. I fail to understand the sentiment that this was 'a good interview'

However, of the dealers I have met, including the opinions posted by some dealers on here it is clear that they live in a false world of B&O hype and although  the 'dealer network size' might be the same now , I suspect that many are hanging on  a thread, in the hope to trade out of debt- i suspect the real closures are yet to come.

The best 'training' B&O can give its dealer network is to get them out of the stores and actually see what products are out there in the market and with it the stark realisation that the sales will not be comming. The stores look like museums.

There is  a danger in asking people what they want- in our electronics business we have  a design team, and one of our largest clients decided they would no longer take fresh design and 'chance it' in the market but subject everything to investigation by a focus group. In the end the resultant design changes to look like everything else!

Of course the best judge is the buying public, who are voting with their feet, i wonder why? does it really take a new CEO to realise?

1. A pricing policy which places a B&O plasma or LCD at 10 times the price for no appreciable difference in quality

2. dealers who think B&O is best and wonder why their stores are empty.

3.New models comming out of CR or china that lack  quality feel with prices that are still to high- in a market where prices in the sector are in freefall.

4.Lack of groundbreaking design, the products excite no longer

355f wrote:

However, of the dealers I have met, including the opinions posted by some dealers on here it is clear that they live in a false world of B&O hype and although  the 'dealer network size' might be the same now , I suspect that many are hanging on  a thread, in the hope to trade out of debt- i suspect the real closures are yet to come.

The best 'training' B&O can give its dealer network is to get them out of the stores and actually see what products are out there in the market and with it the stark realisation that the sales will not be comming. The stores look like museums.

There is  a danger in asking people what they want- in our electronics business we have  a design team, and one of our largest clients decided they would no longer take fresh design and 'chance it' in the market but subject everything to investigation by a focus group. In the end the resultant design changes to look like everything else!

Of course the best judge is the buying public, who are voting with their feet, i wonder why? does it really take a new CEO to realise?

1. A pricing policy which places a B&O plasma or LCD at 10 times the price for no appreciable difference in quality

2. dealers who think B&O is best and wonder why their stores are empty.

3.New models comming out of CR or china that lack  quality feel with prices that are still to high- in a market where prices in the sector are in freefall.

4.Lack of groundbreaking design, the products excite no longer

This is very interesting reading these comments by "355f" and I wonder if he is able to back up his comments! or if this is from a bad experience he has had from one of our stores.

I work in a Bang & Olufsen store and regularly visit (on a weekly basis) other competitors to see what they are doing and what products are out there at the moment and what technology is being used.  We like to keep up with the technology out there as this helps when we are talking to customers and knowing our products.  

Both myself and my colleagues each have about 15 years experience in this industry and all come from audio/visual backgrounds.  We pride ourselves in that we have a vast knowledge on our products and our competitors.  This is a must from anyone we are considering to employ. Customers complement us everyday on the knowledge we have as well as knowing their needs, this is NOT something you get from most other types of stores in the same business who just want to sell anything to anyone to get commission! The training that we receive is the best I have ever had in any sector.

I have never said Bang & Olufsen are the best even though I do in terms of electronic manufacturers, but we do believe in the brand and what it represents.  The fact that our products are different to your average TV in terms of design, picture, sound, build quality etc etc. If I thought that Bang & Olufsen was the best, then that is my own personal opinion and everyone has their own opinion. 

I do not sit around wondering why our stores are empty because Bang & Olufsen stores have always had a smaller foot traffic than your local Comet & Currys who like to stack 'em high and sell cheap! Times are harder at the moment but I think everyone is noticing that in any business, we certainly don't feel sorry for ourselves.

There are some great products in our portfolio at the moment and more to come. Obviously there are going to be some products that we would like to forget from the past.

So your comments are unjustified.  We DO go and look at other competitors, we have always been higher in price by quite a few times over from your average plastic "Telly". Mainly because of build, materials R&D etc. At the end of the day, and a comment I strongly beleive in, "You get what you pay for".!

Its a shame that someone thinks this because out of all the companies I have ever worked for, including Panasonic, Bose, etc. Bang & Olufsen still give one of the best service in their stores and know their products and their competitors. I get comments from customers all the time telling me its a nice change to feel comfortable in a store where the staff know what they are talking about.

Not my comments, but my customers!

We do not live in a false world, and I take that personally.  I think Bang & Olufsen stores are working very hard at the moment and not just sitting around to wait for business to come in.  We are changing the way we work and adapting to needs of customers. Its very hard out there at the moment.

I'm not sure about your comments and seems that you are annoyed about something and wanting to whine about it! 

Every so often , we will get a customer (about once a year) who will come in and slag off our Brand and then walk out! These comment remind me of that customer. No further comments.

One can back up my experiences ,of course, gained personally and from colleagues who are wealthy enough to continue buying B&O but no longer do- otherwise it would  not have been mentioned.

This has nothing to do with comparing the 'pile it high and sell it cheap' retail groups- it is an obvious statement that the footfall will be smaller in a store selling a 20K plasma compared to comet with a £700 panasonic! 

'Different in terms of design and build quality' well to some extent yes, and yet i find that other manufacturers have raised  the game so much that despite buying B&O for many years I become astounded at the prices ( of TV in particular) and the design no longer qualifies for the premium asked

Your right though, B&O have always been higher in price but surely  one must see the multiples have changed and one cannot continue to increase prices when the core product upon which it is based has dropped considerably in value. This has been the policy of B&O over the past few years and it has failed.

'We like to keep up with the technology out there' excellent but the fact is B&O dont!

So all the previous post provides is a confirmation that a particular retailer is 'passionate about the brand'- )never really understood that comment)- 'gives an excellent service'- which I am sure it does and seems to support fully the B&O strategy and product range.

Nothing new there- Excellent, just whats needed!

Its got nothing to do with 'slagging off the brand', and the old cliche  'get what you pay for'  and everything to do with why, as a former customer, I , and many others it would seem! are not getting what we pay for and therefore not buying B&O at the present time- but every so often one gets dealer response like this and these comments remind me of those dealers. No further comments.

355f wrote:

Its got nothing to do with 'slagging off the brand', and the old cliche  'get what you pay for'  and everything to do with why, as a former customer, I , and many others it would seem! are not getting what we pay for and therefore not buying B&O at the present time- but every so often one gets dealer response like this and these comments remind me of those dealers. No further comments.

My response was to your comments! which I think were mainly unjustified and untrue.

Whenever a customer is in our store, I will always complement other brands and what they are doing. I am not blind to what other competitors are doing and what they do they are doing well.

Your comments are from your experience as a customer, but I can confirm that in my 7 years with Bang & Olufsen, I have only had 1 bad comment from a customer. I have had letters from customers expressing what a great experience they have had. 

Your comments earlier were summing up what you think dealers think, which i'm afraid isn't true.

You are correct. that not all dealers are the same and for that I apologise, but my post was about whats wrong with B&O, now, do I assume you think there is nothing wrong?

As a dealer your customers clearly think you offer good service; whilst its true to say that AV companies are suffering in the present climate B&O ( or rather its dealer network!) is taking more of a hit than most- WHY IS THIS, I would be very interested to hear the views from  dealers perspective- i know a few of them on a personal basis and know their feelings!!

355f wrote:

Flappo wrote:

Apple are dictating the future of home entertainment more and more these days , with the new mac pro and mac mini to be revealed in July along with 10.7 lion they're ditching dvd's and cd's and bringing out their own tv's just in time for xmas. Google it , there's loads of well informed pundits out there. who will confirm it for you.

Can bno compete ? 

  

I agree about apple, what intrigues me though is the CEO spending tme visiting the dealers to get their perspective on the situation with the management team spending time in the stores. Sounds good doesnt it, grass roots stuff. I fail to understand the sentiment that this was 'a good interview'

 

I definitively not agree with both of you about Apple dictates the future of home entertainement. People have clearly tendencies to mistake being a cool brand and being the future. Why Apple is a success at the present time? incredible technical products? humm... we have EXACTLY the same in other brand... what makes Apple great is the design of their computer. Even the iphone UI is now a kind of standard and a lot of brand compete with it. And some of them already are evolving to surpass it (I think about MS and Windows Phone 7 UI which is clearly a new kind of UI compare to what currently exists).

And here is my point. How Apple could represent the future as its products are mainly bought because of their great design. At first glance, it can be the same with B&O, but here lies the difference :

B&O products ARE technically at the top. Of course they have products "less" at the top than other, but you can not compare a B&O TV with a Samsung one, even if the screen come from the same factory. Just give a look at another nice brand that sell expensive TV : Loewe. Like B&O, they spend money on the design of the product, but also a lot on the technical side.

I am basically a B&O customer and I had the chance to grow up in places with B&O products. What is nice with this brand is that it is not only a question of design, it is also a question of technical specs. I remember 5-6 years ago how B&O was late in adopting full HD screen. There was definitively a problem at that time because it was outrageous to pay 10k€ a product that was just HD ready. But look now :

- one of the best LED LCD 55"

- Plasma 3D 85"

- Plasma 3D 103"

... They clearly fill the void.

sergio

Rebadged panasonics and 3d technlogy in its present form is not here to stay.