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Luxury watches retailer LK Boutique buys Bang & Olufsen Australasia

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JanB
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JanB Posted: Tue, May 26 2015 10:32 AM

http://www.afr.com/business/luxury-watches-retailer-lk-boutique-buys-bang--olufsen-australasia-20150526-gh9l8o

Interesting development?

Aussie Michael
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Interesting... for those who can't access the link maybe because of subscription

http://www.smh.com.au/business/luxury-watches-retailer-lk-boutique-buys-bang--olufsen-australasia-20150526-gh9l8o.html

"Mr Kennedy said Emerald aimed to revitalise the Bang & Olufsen brand in Australia with a revamp of marketing, to tap into the growing confidence of consumers at the high-end luxury market." yay :-)  They could also look to work on looking after customer loyalty too. 

Millemissen
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Their new motto could be: 'Watch out for B&O'.

MBig SmileM

There is a tv - and there is a BV

elephant
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elephant replied on Tue, May 26 2015 1:04 PM
Australians will understand ...

"Not happy Jan!"

Having lived through the pain of the B&O franchise in AU being owned by the Smorgon family I think this is a backward step.

BeoNut since '75

expoman
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expoman replied on Tue, May 26 2015 4:58 PM

So maybe the North American stores next?  What else is there left to sell? 

Millemissen
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expoman:

So maybe the North American stores next?  What else is there left to sell? 

We are talking retail stores here, not development and production.

Does Bang & Olufsen have to own a B&O store/the B&O stores?

In Denmark there are a few company-owned, but the majority is owned by private people/franchise.

Why should it be a negative thing to sell some retail stores?

MM

There is a tv - and there is a BV

StUrrock
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StUrrock replied on Tue, May 26 2015 8:35 PM
Millemissen:

Why should it be a negative thing to sell some retail stores?

It shows potential franchisees a distinct lack of confidence from the parent company.

It basically implies you can't open a single franchised store only a country!

Is it possible to sub let a franchise Smile
linder
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linder replied on Tue, May 26 2015 8:52 PM

expoman:

So maybe the North American stores next?  What else is there left to sell? 

In the US, the stores are not all the same owner.  There are different owners

Yendys
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Yendys replied on Tue, May 26 2015 9:47 PM
elephant:

"Not happy Jan!"

Having lived through the pain of the B&O franchise in AU being owned by the Smorgon family I think this is a backward step.

It has to be better than the Smorgon days [:\'(]

If they are going to change the marketing down here that can only be a good thing, I don't even bother going into the Sydney stores anymore as they are uninviting
expoman
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expoman replied on Wed, May 27 2015 12:13 AM

The stores in San Francisco 2, New York 3, Atlanta, Portland, Beverly Hills, Seattle, Washington DC, and Palm Desert are all company owned stores.  Eleven stores in the U.S.  Their is another company that owns the stores in Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Austin and Minneapolis. 

Aussie Michael
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elephant:

Australians will understand ...

"Not happy Jan!"

Having lived through the pain of the B&O franchise in AU being owned by the Smorgon family I think this is a backward step. BeoNut since '75

But they are not a luxury retailer and the new guys are ?
elephant
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elephant replied on Wed, May 27 2015 4:11 PM
Aussie Michael:

But they are not a luxury retailer and the new guys are ?

Perhaps

However previously AU prices were inflated

I fear a return to luxury = charge what what you can get away with

BeoNut since '75

BillC
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BillC replied on Wed, May 27 2015 7:34 PM
Yes I seem to remember it was cheaper to buy and ship from Denmark than buy in Australia.

Currently the price difference seems comparatively reasonable.

Makes me wonder if I should reconsider and get the Avant 85 before the new owners change the pricesSmile
elephant
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elephant replied on Wed, May 27 2015 10:17 PM
BillC:

Makes me wonder if I should reconsider and get the Avant 85 before the new owners change the prices

Yes your memory serves you well

Somehow I don't think a luxury chain's first actions will be to reverse certain price changes

I am also wondering if I should rush in and make some quick purchase ....

But not of an Avant !

I was in on Monday and the staff were having to do stock counts and cash reconciliations as a matter of urgency -- all makes sense now

BeoNut since '75

beoaus
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beoaus replied on Thu, May 28 2015 7:52 AM

Escor owned distribution rights for Bang and Olufsen Australia (+NZ) for about 8 years. Part of the Smorgon group. pretty sure one of their other business even fitted out Camberwell.

Escor invested at a time when B&O globally struggled, they still do. Escor put it up for sale as a going concern and B&O took over after a lack of alternative offers. One venture failed dismally which was the David jones experiment.

Another issue was continued support of old equipment. Australia had the largest supply of B&O parts and spares outside of Denmark. Much of which was tipped, a tragedy in its own right.

So one presumes Escor were were glad to get out. B&O took the keys back for a while (put all on hold) and here we are again.

Australia is about 3% of the global market. What other options are there?

I think a change is a good one, this time.

Also point out that luxury watch brands have a habit of using agency selling model's. Maybe B&O are using this model now?  Why not?

 

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