Home > Sound > 24Bit Media Players > EXCLUSIVE: B&O To Move To New Store Within A Store Model New TV’s Coming

Bang & Olufsen is set for a major shakeup in Australia, with a brand new, go to market strategy that will see the Company launch a new range of TV’s, premium sound gear as well as portable speakers and headphones that will be branded Bang & Olufsen instead of B&O Play.

Instead of a direct sell model the Danish Company is set to use Melbourne based Aqipa and Singapore based distributor MJ Group to launch their new strategy and a national network of stores within a store.

The portable range will still be sold via mass retailers.

Their premium and mid-tier products will be sold via store within a store network according to Singapore based Marketing Manager Andrea Tan.

ChannelNews understands that LG is also set to launch a new TV range with B&O speakers built in.

The move comes after the Danish Company parted Company with The Kennedy Group who ChannelNews understands was losing money running their 10 direct sell Bang & Olufsen stores in Australia.

According to Tan B&O believe that there is a market in Australia and New Zealand for their TV’s and premium sound systems including their new Bang & Olufsen BeoSound Edge which is built around a large 10-inch woofer and two pairs each of 4-inch midrange drivers and 0.75-inch tweeters.

It outputs sound on both sides and can be used either as a floor standing speaker or mounted on a wall.

ChannelNews understands that retailers who are chosen to range the new B&O TV range will carry floor stock with the TV’s being airfreighted within 5 days from Denmark.

According to Tan their will be a major marketing refresh for the brand in Australia with the Company going back to their roots where the emphasis will be on the brand.

Back in June 2017 B&O signed a commercial partnership with the Sydney based Cronulla Sharks, the deal was done via Emerald Group Investments on behalf of Bang & Olufsen who became the Sharks Official Premium Audio-Visual Partner until the end of the 2019 season.

ChannelNews has been told that this sponsorship was a “big mistake” and is not the market for B&O products.

We also understand that B&O are keen to continue their relationship with David Jones and in the future, they will fund instore merchandising and dedicated staff to sell B&O products. Currently David Jones is selling both Loewe and Bang & Olufsen TV’s.

The restructure is also a big win for Aqipa who up until now was only distributing the B&O Play range of products. In the future they will co-distribute with MJ Group the entire Bang & Olufsen range of products.

Back in July the Danish Group said that they had “swung to profit” in its fiscal fourth quarter ending in July 2018 and that they expect to maintain the current momentum by growing in all regions and further improving profitability.

The company said net profit for the three months ended May 31 was 53.2 million Danish kroner ($8.4 million) compared with a loss of DKK75.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The figure was better than the DKK32 million expected by analysts.

Revenue rose to A$129 million up from A$122 million.

The company has spent the past couple of years trying to streamline its traditional business of selling upmarket audio and television equipment while expanding in the lower-end consumer-goods market via its B&O Play brand.

This shift in operating model will result in further reductions of development costs in 2018-2019, but significant investments will be made within distribution and marketing related to increasing brand awareness, Company executives said.



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