I heard a rumor that the Pro Partner program has been shut down in the US. My local one has been cut off from access and has gotten no replies from emails or phone calls to B&O. The supposed story is that a few were not following the rules so they pulled the plug on all of them. Do you know if there is any truth to this? (Or maybe mine was just one of the naughty ones)
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Pro Partner program shut down?
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The recent interim report said they had closed down over 100 pro partners and put a new management team in place in the US. Monobrand stores would open (not sure how many), underperforming multi brand stores would be sorted and a few other initiatives.
Not a rumour - it happened over the summer period.
I'm sure its more than about a few dealers straying from the rules, its bigger picture decision.
I wonder how stringent the rules were /are in any case to deviate from
True story Hard shutdown several months ago.
Not to worry, the legions of dealers will step in to fill the gap...oh, wait.
True storyHard shutdown several months ago.
'Apparently the case.
Don't know if my local dealer was a "pro partner", but they seem to have quit the business. They are a massive multi-brand appliance store in the Chicago suburbs that had a B&O "store within a store". No more B&O listings on their website. No longer listed as a dealer on bang-olufsen.com. I'm sad. I bought a ton of equipment from them and they always treated me right. Now the closest store is in Ohio.
You undoubtedly mean ABT. No, not a pro partner. Not sure why B&O isn't searchable on their web site but they're still a dealer. Call Oli on extension 2711.
'Looked at B&O's store locator. Down to 9 shops in the USA..
If you start from here, you can see their product listings:
https://www.abt.com/brand/Bang-And-Olufsen
If Abt and B&O do dump each other, it's unfortunate because Abt was the closest to the Deerfield (IL) corporate headquarters, and you could generally count on them to get product shipments as-soon-as... I think Abt doesn't need B&O, rather than vice versa. Once upon a time they had plenty of room under that new roof for their large store-within-a-store, but they have started doing furniture/mattresses & watches -- and have been changing up their high-end appliance lines too. Who knows, maybe they write enough business to support that dedicated B&O home theater room behind the stereo & TV room... but I think it could be more profitable with greater volume of more common goods. Abt is good for B&O; the dealer I don't understand is the Hallandale Beach (FL) store at the Gulfstream race track/casino. It is no longer the case that Miami is the shopping hub for all of Central and South America, especially since B&O has dealers throughout the region -- no less sparsely than in the USA at least. Who knows, maybe the betting crowd are good prospects?
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