READ OUT LOUDTHE STORY BEHIND

BANG & OLUFSEN

SURVIVING IN A NICHE MARKET

BEFORE YOU START….

please look into your camera and tell us slowly your name, city and country… Then you can start reading this paragraph out loud… Have fun!

Being in touch with our consumers is more important than ever before. They are the ones who buy our products.” Which is why Bang & Olufsen decided to redirect their focus away from developments such

as a new cell phone, MP3-players and sources such as the DVD2 and the HDR2 and to turn towards their traditional strengths: high quality audio and video products and sound systems for the automobile industry.

“A crisis often forces companies to work a little harder at doing itsbest. When the market stabilizes, we will have to keep it up. If we fail,then we will not have asked enough of ourselves.”

Kalle and I clearly see the future differently. Most Bang & Olufsen-fans are 40-plus. For the time being, having baby-boomers as its customers will definitely work, but I doubt that this is a long-term

strategy. Though the younger generation is prepared to pay more for design and functionality – note the iPhone and the iPad – Bang & Olufsen does not approach this target group via the channels this groupuses.

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