As struggling Danish Hi Fi Company was rolling out a brand-new portable Bluetooth speaker one of their biggest dealers in Australia was replacing the brand in their stores due to poor sales.

According to Philippe Luder (seen below), the CEO of Melbourne based Tivoli Hi Fi, the brand is being replaced with Loewe TV’s and Audio products.

Taking a leaf out of JB Hi Fi’s marketing approach Luder told ChannelNews “We had Bang & Olufsen taking up 50 Square metres of floor space and we were not getting a return on investment, so we are replacing them” he said.

Recently Bang & Olufsen announced increased prices in response to U.S. President Trump’s import tariffs.

This followed price increases on selected products back in January.

In Melbourne both Carlton Audio and Tivoli are now moving to extend their ranging of Loewe products with the new Carlton Audio store also installing one of Loewe new premium coffee machines in their new Lygon Street store.

Recently Bang & Olufsen who have struggled in Australia for several years said that despite the tariffs it will continue investing in its strategy to strengthen its market position.

Late last year the Company said that they had to raise US $33.5 million through a share issue, with funds earmarked for its strategy that aims to strengthen its position in the luxury audio market by increasing brand awareness, optimizing its retail network and investing in new products.

Back in October 2018 ChannelNews exclusively revealed that the Kennedy Luxury Group ceased its distribution of Bang & Olufsen (B&O) products in Australia and New Zealand, leading to the closure of seven B&O stores and some stores having their leases terminated.

MJ Group was subsequently appointed as the exclusive distributor of B&O in the region.

At one stage the Melbourne based Kennedy Luxury Group operated 10 stand-alone Bang & Olufsen stores in Australia and New Zealand but after poor sales and limited investment from the Danish Company they decided to out of all of them as leases become due.

“Amid geopolitical uncertainties including the recent announced tariffs and possibility of further tariff changes, we are continuing our strategic transition by investing the proceeds of our recent capital raise in future profitable growth,” Chief Executive Kristian Tear said last week.

Tear said the strategic transition continued according to plan in its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28 with revenue growth driven by most markets in EMEA and a strong performance in the Americas.

He admitted that revenues in the Asia-Pacific region and Australia declined.