Bang & Olufsen is known for its products which every time created a new user experience and earned an iconic status, a lasting value. Is this still the case? Is it still possible to permanently satisfy the buyer? We know that nowadays with Hi-Tech products it is explicitly all about trends which do not follow certain standards, such as sustainability, longevity of the product etc.
At Bang & Olufsen, we recognize the importance of identifying, cultivating and maximizing our strengths. Our core competences are the glue that binds us together as a company and the engine of new business development. Although we have many areas of expertise, we have identified not just three, but EIGHT areas, which we refer to as core competence areas – quality, picture, sound, user interaction, design, integration, mechanical movements, materials and finish.
It is definitely possible to constantly satisfy our customers around the world as we have something for every age and every taste. We have something that is very unique compared to the rest. The strategy we follow – being a nice brand and the only brand that bridges the gap between the commodity hi-tech world and the luxury world we are in a competition of our own and not competing with the rest of the technology world. We are not a leader in technology – we enter a market when it is mature enough and when we are secure that our products can last for 20 years and above. That is also the reason why we do not follow trends.
What makes a product great/exceptional?
As a world leading audio and video luxury brand with a key focus on entertainment, B & O is truly unique /exceptional. We are positioned as an upscale, lifestyle-oriented brand, with products that are rooted in a long and robust heritage. We aim to offer our customers a premier and exclusive lifestyle through our highly distinctive and exclusive range of quality audio, video, multimedia products and services.
Some key words that make our products unique are fun, magic and convenience.
It should be fun to play with them and something unexpected always happened. Light turns on – CD clamper moves, DVD opens, antenna comes up etc. And then they are extremely user friendly.
Also the looks of our products are very special – like a piece of art. That is also the reason why we have been specially selected for permanent exhibition at the MOMA museum in New York.
In these times of digital globalization, what is the relation between uniqueness that design creates and fitting in / following the herd (the phenomenon of iPhone, Facebook, etc.)?
In every aspect of the design and technology there is a carefully thought out relationship between form and function that makes both the minimalist design and the use of the phone elegantly simple and straightforward. The intention is to provide an alternative for customers who demand the highest quality, for whom simplicity and quality are important factors, and for whom less can be more.
We have just decided that our future strategy is to focus on our core business only, which is video, audio and loudspeakers. So we will not focus on producing everything but being unique in the sense of focusing on what we are good at as a company.
And finally a very personal question: what kind of Hi-Fi do you have at home and why did you choose that very model?
At home we have e.g. the iconic BeoVision 7-40 television as well as the iconic BeoSound 9000 audio system. The BeoSound 9000 is my favourite product still. Our 3 children have MX TVs in their rooms. Then for the rest of the house we have our Bang & Olufsen BeoLink system. This means that with just one audio master and video master you can have extra Link speakers in the home and via special cabling enjoy the music from your master audio system in other rooms.
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Jakob Odgaard is the Managing Director of Bang & Olufsen’s Expansion Markets division and he also heads Bang & Olufsen Central Europe. He and his team support an extensive dealer network covering around 40 countries, including Russia, the Middle East, Latin America and India among others.
Founded in 1925 in Struer, Denmark, Bang & Olufsen is world renowned for its distinctive range of quality consumer electronic products including televisions, music systems, loudspeakers, telephones and multimedia products which are sold in 60 countries around the world.
Bang & Olufsen is widely considered to be the only brand that bridges the home electronics and lifestyle-luxury categories. The company prides itself on its idea-based products that combine technological excellence with emotional appeal. Many of these products hold places of honour in the permanent collections of the world’s greatest art museums, including the Museum of Modern art in New York.
Author: Urša Bajželj
Photos: Bang & Olufsen
Great ideas, I like them!