Is B&O abandoning its VHNW strategy ?

[Mbee]

We know B&O has been doing things for the very rich lately(VHNWI), and this was clearly claimed in their financial statements.

But now, looking at some instagram pictures, it seems that they are going out of the enormous houses and want to target a « poorer » audience. Look at the attached picture : ok, as usual, there don’t seem to be any cable connected… but everything is wrong ! The Premiere is blocking the view of a part of the TV screen, the room looks tiny, the furniture looks cheap… What do you think ?

[NQVHNWI]

I don’t think B&O has abandoned the VHNWI strategy. The VHNWI abandoned them or never bit into the strategy in the first place.

1. Its easy (read: lazy) just to say you will target them (VHNWI) with the same average-quality gear (average meaning, plastic, PCBs, a bit of pressed coloured aluminium)
2. You cant just tell the world you are “luxury” and want to be associated with the buying set of Hermes, LV, Patek, Ferrari, Aston. It takes multiple decades, not a couple of years.
3. Speaking of which, all these “Fashion/Luxury” houses are struggling to maintain “growth” (oxymoron – how do you “grow” if you keep making the same stuff and sell to the same people?)
4. B&O could not induce a Faux-Scarcity of product (Rolex, Hermes, Ferrari etc..) if Sonos or Bose suddenly got warped into a black-hole at the centre of the galaxy.
5. Your products are consumer electronics. in 10 years time, nothing will work, may be an obsolete format? It may be repairable but for what? Remember Vertu mobile phones?
6. The VHNWIs don’t buy rooms/multiple rooms full of BL90s or even rooms full of the smaller beosounds. They don’t even fill every room with B&O like many here do.
7. VHNWIs are probably more inclined to have a single piece – maybe flexible living, maybe in a cupboard and brought out when the rare chance is it is needed.
8. VHNWIs will probably keep the house lay-out/decor  in the same way/condition as their Interior Designer Consultant educated them on. “Show home at all times, not junk on display”
9. VHNWIs don’t come home from work at 6pm, pop-on a microwave pizza and slurp the remnants of last-nights half-bottle of Cava and watch Coronation Street or East Enders and endless TV junk.

 

So if B&O do return to their “roots” (i.e. people with better-than average/slightly higher than average disposable incomes, don’t have bone-crushing mortgages etc..), do come home at 6pm  (assuming Ai will not take their jobs…i.e. plumbers, electricians, skilled artisans etc) and do watch TV all night, I think with reasonable pricing, finance deals, trade-ins and CONTINUED good product line-up with frequent product refreshes…..I think they will do “Better”.

 

[Author]

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