Bang & Olufsen St Paul's London

Are they still around? Notice their FB and Twitter pages are not functional.

Strange as I passed the store a couple of weeks ago and they were shut with a notice of forfeiture on the inside from the landlord.

They opened again the following week but I heard they were moving to a new premises.

Paul

StUrrock:

Are they still around? Notice their FB and Twitter pages are not functional.

It appears that they have closed. Their answerphone message redirects you through to B&O UK for outstanding orders.

That's a real shame. Weren't they in a real affluent part of London as well? 

Paul W:

That's a real shame. Weren't they in a real affluent part of London as well? 

But not near to where the wealthy potential customers lived?

Paul W:

That's a real shame. Weren't they in a real affluent part of London as well? 

Or maybe they weren't good at selling Effluent to the Affluent.

Paul W:

That's a real shame. Weren't they in a real affluent part of London as well?

Where rent and rates makes it a non starter for an independent; unless they are minted of course!

double edges sword, there is so much residential building work in London you would have thought you could access a percentage but as mentioned rent and rates probably out weigh the additional sales.

My friend owns an optician, he had a large busy shop we a decent footprint, after the centre was updated and refurbished his landlords doubled his rent. He had to sell half his shop to save on rent and open additional hours finally he had to sell to a large corporation as he could not make enough money.

Most of UK's shopping centres/Malls are owned by financial institutions and their only motivation and want is to maximise their profits, shame we can't follow the same principles for new housing and provide subsidised rent for independents

I would have thought it a good idea to get people in their lunch hours, even if buying the Play products - Years ago I bought a Beocentre 9300 from a dealer opposite Liverpool Street station - I could never understand why they closed as they were really good and also had all the city people wandering in and out. Now the only place for HiFi there is Richer Sounds.

I heard somewhere that there has been a 25% increase over the past couple of years in Independent shops - traders like Butchers, Bakers and Fishmongers - it's encouraging but (and slightly off topic) if we want to see thriving, vibrant, high streets then they should be encouraged, so the idea of a subusidy is not a bad one and lift the parking so that people can park for an hour or two for free. Where I live in Essex you get a parking permit from the council of one per household and parking in the high street is free - we have a fantastic high street with loads of independents and it sustains itself. A far cry from the major towns and cities that are all dominated by clothes, shoes and handbag shops. I've always thought that for the independent B&O shops to survive that there maybe a market for them to sell other complimentary products such as mid century furniture or modern design classics - sort of a one stop shop for people (imho) with style and taste!

Well said Andrew, even the mighty John Lewis are looking at Franchised Concessionaires in-store; similar to Debenhams, as they are noticing a drop in foot fall and increase in internet traffic.

So we need to mix things up and give "a reason to come"

A real shame to see a good store close.

Sometimed the business model doesn't add up - the P&L has to be achievable and I guess running a store in London with some pretty fierce competition can be hard with the high operational overheads.

After 30 years with the brand, I took sole ownership of the Sheffield store at the beginning of this month...

SHEFFIELD:

A real shame to see a good store close.

Sometimed the business model doesn't add up - the P&L has to be achievable and I guess running a store in London with some pretty fierce competition can be hard with the high operational overheads.

After 30 years with the brand, I took sole ownership of the Sheffield store at the beginning of this month...

good luck Sheffield I hope you enjoy ownership and its both financially fruitful as well as personally rewarding...

Thanks Mark!

SHEFFIELD:

A real shame to see a good store close.

Sometimed the business model doesn't add up - the P&L has to be achievable and I guess running a store in London with some pretty fierce competition can be hard with the high operational overheads.

After 30 years with the brand, I took sole ownership of the Sheffield store at the beginning of this month...

Congratulations

Thanks Stuart!

Spare a thought for the employees who have possibly lost their jobs and the owner who may have lost a lot too!

Just as a follow up someone sent my a link today showing the statement of affairs  for the winding up of City Hometech Ltd who were apparently trading as Bang & Olufsen St Pauls. Follow the link below and go to filing history.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07935954

In the Statement is mentions on one page customer deposits of £30,000.00

So please when placing large deposits at any store, B&O or not, ask for the name of the limited company, check them out!