B&Os Bath

Looks like it according to a Google search:

http://stores.bang-olufsen.com/great-britain/bang-olufsen-of-bath/

Dave

Chris Townsend:

Is it true they've just shut their doors, emptied their shelves and shut up for good?

Indeed. Walked past at lunch, store is empty. Cleared out yesterday. Scary thing is, B&O Bath is in one of the most affluent areas of the country. I'm sure I was told a few years ago it was within the top five most profitable UK B&O stores.

Astonished B&O doesn't appear to have any contingency for customers who hare pre-ordered and pre-paid for goods through one of their retailers. Only course of action is to go to your credit card company!

The above is easily enough for any long-standing customer to be put off the brand.

Yes closed today when I walked past. End of an era. Proud to say B&O were the first company I worked for...

there's many ways to skin a cat but closing in such an area is bizarre, without presence on the high street how can they get their important selling message across. The high street is a maddening place, I live in affluent part of SW London and our high street is a mix of property agents, supermarket chains, fried chicken and charity shops, it seems independents just struggle paying rent and competing against the internet where realistically their is not such a huge price difference apart from convenience.

Could B&O lower its dealer standards (maintain quality but lower visual/aesthetic costs) and work on better profit margins and support?

I agree Mark but it's happened in highly affluent Hampstead (great staff), beautiful part of Chester (again really nice staff), Leeds (great staff too). Really sad. Something is seriously wrong if they are not enough in these huge income areas. Has the market changed too much??? Is everybody buying SONOS type multi room systems or just iPhone/Bluetooth docks and maybe LG TVs??? Maybe. Maybe B&O needs to get a £450 4K LG TV, work their sound magic with it and sell it for £1400? 

Now you see the stress that Tue has no doubt had! Retail is such a competitive but highly changing environment!

Paul W:

Has the market changed too much??? 

I think it's a combination of traditional customers not changing their old TVs, with the younger generation not interest in paying £5K for a B&O TV. Of course, some do, just no where near as many as in the past. Harder sell, high rents, little support from B&O HQ = less motivation for dealer.

This isn't going to get any better, folks. Remember most people here view B&O with positive rose-tinted glasses. We're not good examples of an average customer.

I had £3400 of pre-paid un-delivered orders tied up in the Bath store. I had zero idea it was going to close!

There certainly seems to be a bit of a toxic mix coming in from all directions, and I personally haven't a clue what the retailers are going through or need.

Ten years ago there was a distinct gap between B&O TVs, and the rest of the AV market that was by and large full of cheap looking rubbish. That just isn't the case anymore, where even cheap makes like LG are turning out good looking sets with excellent pictures.

My new £450 LG set for the kids bedroom, has a better picture and array of excellent smart apps which are actually useful, than my 11-46 ever had. I hate to say it, but it does. The bottom of the range LG set

The shops are full of soundbars that do a half decent job, the one from Naim the Musso is a cracker. When the makes finally get round to fusing the two together successfully its game over. A lot of it at least.

The V1 comes with Beosystem 4, WISA. I can't think of a single person I know that would ever utilise such equipment. What they want from a Beovision is a great looking set, brilliant picture and sound. At 3 times the price of a regular set, not 5-6 times.

I'm off to chear myself up with the Godfather

Totally, totally agree with you Chris! I remember when you could buy a basic MX that was stripped of the surround sound, sat decoder BUT still offered excellent sound quality at a realistic price. A nice designed PLAY TV with a 4K panel and great sound, electronic curtains and nice bright colour options - the hallmarks of B&O is all that is required as an entry level at £1400 for a 40". 

When I started working for B&O, the MX4200 was retailing for £1100, maybe £1195 I seem to remember, when a good, similarly-sized set from Sony would cost £350, and the MX4200 was a really great TV - all the normal features you'd expect plus a few extra unusual additions (the STB controller, motorised wall bracket).

Things are different nowadays and they can't keep running the same old model unfortunately.

It's also increasingly difficult for B&O to really provide something magical on the music side of things as the way music is consumed nowadays doesn't really leave any opportunity for event or magic, which the Beosound 3000, 9000 etc... used to provide.

Very true Killy. Especially as the majority now use (myself included) an iPhone for everything and no, I wouldn't want it any other way :) Maybe they could bring back the magic with bluetooth docks with motorised ALT tweeters like on the Audi A6/A8?  Certainly, things do change a lot and when a teenager  who has been brought up with an iPhone sees the sheer huge size of say a 9000 that only plays 6 discs compared to the 100,000 of their 128gb iPhone then you realise :)

We can all analyse until the cows come home, but at the end of the day it's another store closed in a location where one should thrive...

I don't know the details so can't comment - but I'm genuinely saddened when a store is closed down, for whatever reason.

I wish Mike and his staff well in the future and always enjoyed doing business with the Bath store.  I'll miss visiting the town too!

Lee

9 LEE:

I wish Mike and his staff well in the future and always enjoyed doing business with the Bath store.  I'll miss visiting the town too!

I had a personal phone call from Mike yesterday, which was great of him. He didn't need to do that.

9Lee, you can always come and visit me :)

Paul W - I used to work for Future (circa 2003). Now, that's truly an odd company. Either on an incredible high or in a terrible low!