ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
bang olufsen still losing money.html
Some gains, but bottom line is still red
Bang & Olufsen struggle to adapt to changing customer groups (photo: iStock)
Renowned Danish electronics icon Bang & Olufsen has released its figures for the first half of the year, and while some gains were made, the company is still losing money.
The results were released earlier than expected, and just three weeks after B&O said there had been inquiries from an interested buyer.
Play paying offThe company has struggled to adapt to changing customer groups and to create popular products. It has sold off some sections and focused on its core television business and its less expensive ‘Play’ line of products.
That focus has payed off during the first half of the year. Sales of Play products have more than doubled, while sales of the company’s classic products have fallen again.
“We are pleased with the demand for our new products and will continue to launch them,” said B&O head Tue Mantoni.
Overall, revenues at Bang & Olufsen rose by one fifth in the first half of the company’s corporate year, which runs from April to October.
Better, but still bleedingB&O Play products now account for over one third of total sales. The bottom line showed a loss of 97 million, an improvement over the 181 million kroner lost during the same period last year.
READ MORE: Bang & Olufsen raises 259 million from capital increase
It was revealed in November that the company had received inquiries from an interested buyer, which B&O said it is investigating.
Bang & Olufsen may have to think about changing their business model. In the US at least, it's a lot harder to buy Bang & Olufsen products than it is to buy B&O Play. They have Amazon and their online B&O Play store for that. Most people I know have never heard of the brand except from me.
It may not help that their cheapest current speaker (BeoLab 17) is close to US $5000. While I am thrilled to have a pair it's still hard for me to believe I spent that much for them! I just got them so I haven't hooked them up yet, but I am hoping the sound takes away all my apprehension!
I like to go to my local high-end hifi shop now and then and see what the offerings are from the other brands. I always walk out of there shaking my head and thinking that none of the other brands offer what B&O does. For me active speakers are the only way to go, but that is only because I am very familiar with the B&O brand.
Their products are mostly great. The problem is the pricing is from another planet.
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BeoLab 18's. Beolab 3's. A8. A9. A2. H7.
Mark-N: Bang & Olufsen may have to think about changing their business model. In the US at least, it's a lot harder to buy Bang & Olufsen products than it is to buy B&O Play. They have Amazon and their online B&O Play store for that. Most people I know have never heard of the brand except from me. It may not help that their cheapest current speaker (BeoLab 17) is close to US $5000. While I am thrilled to have a pair it's still hard for me to believe I spent that much for them! I just got them so I haven't hooked them up yet, but I am hoping the sound takes away all my apprehension! I like to go to my local high-end hifi shop now and then and see what the offerings are from the other brands. I always walk out of there shaking my head and thinking that none of the other brands offer what B&O does. For me active speakers are the only way to go, but that is only because I am very familiar with the B&O brand.
I hope you enjoy your BL17s, and hope you'll post your listening impressions once you get them setup.
I agree with you, active speakers are the way to go, they offer so many advantages over conventional setups and have ever since they first appeared back in the 60s/70s. As for style, you're right again,going into even the more expensive stereo stores yields you nothing more than a collection of boxes, metal boxes for the components, wooden boxes for speakers. B&O is about the only group that offers something styled differently.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Agreed on all of your points. B&O in the US is a strange animal. There's little brand awareness, and apart from the largest of metropolitan areas, stores are few and far between which creates a vicious cycle of declining brand awareness, and from a business standpoint, alienates current and potential aficionados in much of the rest of the country. Congrats on your 17s. Love to hear what you think of them, and maybe some unboxing photos? How are you going to mount them?
I would love to think I was, but I am not in the same economic standing of the target customer. B&O does have products I can buy, especially the B&O Play brand, but these purchases are the holy grail of audio products for me. That said hopefully there are more potential customers like me out there, they just need to know more about the brand, and the labor of love that goes into making the products.
It makes me angry to read a product announcement from some of the tech sites that says that these products are for the stupid millionaires. There are probably many readers who think that "budget brand x" is a better buy, and they don't give Bang & Olufsen a second look.
I became aware of Bang and Olufsen many decades ago when I was about 7 years old and used to spend some time at my neighborhood hifi shop in Detroit (you know that has to be a long time ago!) They had some Bang & Olufsen in their front room and I used to stare at it thinking that it was the most elegant system I have ever seen! I never believed I would be able to afford Bang & Olufsen, but this is a complete B&O Christmas for me! All the gifts I am giving are B&O! People like me can be big B&O fans!!!
I plan to set up my BeoLab 17's in my bedroom this weekend. I have the floor base to use on my dresser, along with the Essence that is currently hooked up to my BeoSound 8. My excitiment is very high right now and this will be the ultimate place I can escape to and listen to my music! I will take some pictures and post them!
The more I think about this the more I believe that B&O could be on the right track.
BMW hottest seller is the 3 series and that could equate to B&O Play.
Large numbers of sexy but lower priced models with good profit margin.
The classic B&O is more like the 5 and 7 series, much higher price, much lower production numbers but very, very profitable.
I also believe that especially in the USA it is good for B&O to be available through Amazon and such like.
It is a brand that really is unknown over here.
By selling high quality, high style but somewhat affordable models the brand gets exposure and maybe customers who enjoy their products will be trading up.
There are only so many customers willing to buy $ 20 and 30 k TV's and speakers, simply insufficient to support a rather large organization like B&O.
In my opinion there are only two choices - keep the organization in place and substantially grow revenue, or significantly reduce overhead, and be a small but ultra high end niche player.
I have my issues with B&O, like bringing products to market which are simply not ready for prime time quite yet - recently the Moment comes to mind. However, I truly would hate this great brand to fail, be swallowed up and join the world of mediocrity.