Luxury audio-video products maker Bang & Olufsen is bullish on India, and is set to open its first store here.
The company has appointed BeoWorld as its exclusive partner and master dealer in India. The first store, in New Delhi, will be opened in January 2015. The company expects to open standalone stores in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore in the first phase.
Michael Viberg Pederson, who is the company’s Head of Sales for South-East Asia, South Asia & Africa, and Expansion markets, said: “A couple of years back we focused on developing China and for the past year we have been focusing on growing our business in India. With this new partnership (BeoWorld), we are taking a significant step in this direction. India has the potential to become one of the biggest markets for us in the next 3-5 years.”
These standalone stores will be managed by exclusive partner BeoWorld in close co-ordination with Bang & Olufsen to ensure the global brand’s standards are maintained in the India stores.
“We want our standalone stores to offer a consistent experience across the world. The stores in India will offer the same experience to consumers as they do in Milan, Paris or Tokyo,” added Pederson.
He said that the company wants to offer the right experience to consumers in India and is ensuring that retail staff get the right kind of training to ensure the experience meets the company’s global standards.
Gaganmeet Singh, MD of BeoWorld, said Bang & Olufsen’s core products, including high-end TV and audio systems, will be sold through these standalone stores. Singh added that the company hopes to service key cities surrounding these “destination stores”.
At the same time, the B and O Play range of products, which includes headsets, on-the-go music players and Bluetooth devices, will be available to consumers through multi-brand points of sale and also the e-commerce platform.
Bang & Olufsen products are already available in luxury hotels and premium cars and the company expects to strengthen this further by partnering with high-end real estate developers and hospitality companies.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.