Sleek but no sale: Bang & Olufsen struggles with luxury niche

COPENHAGEN (AFP) — Despite a recent upswing for the luxury goods market, Bang & Olufsen, the Danish maker of sleek, high-end sound systems and televisions, is struggling to attract consumers as rivals increasingly focus on design at lower prices, analysts say.

Having carved out a niche in the market with cutting-edge esthetics and technology, B&O is facing rising competition from manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung and Philips who now put more emphasis on sophisticated design and technology at moderate prices.

"Even rich consumers are asking themselves why they should spend four times more for a B&O product when competitors are offering them equally sophisticated products, esthetically and sometimes even technologically," Bjoern Schwarz, chief analyst at Sydbank, told AFP.

He said that in the luxury goods and high-end market, B&O would "lose its raison d'etre" if it tried to compete with other manufacturers' lower prices. ...