Hi Sal,

I'm thinking that surely the more cars that have BANG&OLUFSEN speaker systems in them in the USA will be a great thing to raise awareness for the brand at home! I was watching an American dealership on YouTube promoting the Audi A3 Sedan S Line that I own and the salesman was talking about the BANG&OLUFSEN 14 speaker system in it.

Having the BANG&OLUFSEN name on a £500 really cheaply made HP laptop which i saw advertised on a Curry advert on the TV last week was a definite shock for me and really downed B&Os image.

So basically, to improve B&O's standing in the US, get top quality speaker systems in the cars, just like BOSE were doing 15 years ago. I have every faith in Harmon looking after the B&O car side having had some amazing sounding Harmon systems in BMW's and MINI's over the years!

Five of the US stores that "closed" were a group of stores that moved into home automation.

When the Chicago store "closed", I received an email from B and O directing me to a new store in the Chicago area.

If I am reading the B&O store locator correctly, there are only 22 stores in the US.  Two by me closed recently, Bethesda MD and Washington DC.  That doesn't look like a good sign.  When I was a kid (in the 60's) the neighborhood hi-fi store sold Bang & Olufsen as well as many other brands.  I know the desire was to have sales people focus on Bang & Olufsen equipment instead of directing customers away to other brands, but maybe it's not a bad thing to have more stores like Abt.  When I've called them they've been very enthusiastic and helpful of Bang & Olufsen equipment.  I sure would love more options!

I personally know one dealer who's recently shuttered their doors, but is still listed in the active dealers list I believe, so the numbers may be even worse than 22. B&O has never had the market penetration in the US they do in Europe or the UK. The whole concept of solely B&O stores vs. selling at other stores as well is one where there's not a good answer I think, a lot depends on the store. For example, when I lived in Florida there was a highish end place that sold B&O as well as McIntosh, Pioneer Kuro, and a number of other high end brands, and their specialty was custom installs and theater rooms. Located in the wealthier part of town. They did a very good job selling B&O and demoing it well.

Eventually they dropped it when B&O went with selling thru a Florida electronics chain called Sound Advice, now defunct. I may have had a hand in accelerating their move to single brand stores...when I was buying my BS9000/BL8000 combo, I contacted B&O often about how poorly Sound Advice was doing with their products. First, they kept them out on the floor in a wall display, next to the boom boxes and TVs. It was so noisy out there you couldn't tell what anything sounded like, and every snot nosed kid or idiot adult who wandered by kept pawing the gear, so it was all covered in fingerprints and smears, and a lot of it didn't work, glass doors hanging askew or jammed, etc. A horrible way to try and sell such a product. I kept complaining about how badly the experience was and how poorly they worked to get me what I wanted, and the rep wound up giving me a fair number of B&O swag items to try and pacify me, which is how I got my bottle opener, tape measure, and complete set of the BS9000 custom CDs.

And from what I've seen with the dealers I have known B&O doesn't exactly treat their dealers that well. We've discussed the mandatory expenses for Play displays and such and then discounting the product thru mail order or other retail outlets, etc. I personally would not want to be a dealer now, as much as I love the brand.

Hi Paul,

My new BMW has B&O music system that beats the hell out of the top of the range Meridian system that my Jag had.

We could do with more exposure with car manufacturers, although most car dealers at a local level are reluctant to work with B&O dealers - would really like to have a local Aston Martin dealer to work with!

I am working with my local Audi dealer next weekend for the launch of the new A4, giving away an A2 in a prize draw etc.

cheers,

Nick

Hi Sheffield :)

WOW that's incredible and thats saying a lot isn't it as Meridian have produced some beautiful sound systems. 

Have a look at the A3 S Line Saloon which I have when you're there. It's very beautiful from all angles :) Mine's the Misano Red and it's gorgeous :) And 52mpg from a petrol engine! i'm really starting to like AUDI now. It's grown on me :) The A4 looks nice but it's gone a bit middle aged over the years compared to the new 3 series. I like the Audi A3 Sportback too for when I start a family :)

The Houston, Texas store appears to be thriving.  It's in a swanky little center with nice restaurants, boutiques, and bar.  I agree that the letters B&O should never appear on a cheap HP laptop.  Makes you wonder what on earth they were thinking...

As a Bay Area native and now happily employed with B&O, I think the HP alliance is great. Mr. Hewlett and David Packard are great gentlemen and have been positive contributors to this special part of the world for decades: www.packard.org

The Rose Golden-themed Spectre laptop we have in the store looks, feels, and works fantastic.

This small Danish company we love now has 2 solid ties to the Bay Area: Sausalito Audio Works (Acoustic Lens Technology) and one of the giants of computing, HP.