Hi All,

 I am travelling the western part of the US in the moment and for sure, I took the opportunity to check out the local US stores....I have been in San Diego at the Fashion  Valley Shop and yesterday at Rodeo Drive. Furtunately I could stop my wife do some "black belt" shopping but the local B&O store got our attention.

It is a very very small store with a very small room for the Beoliving setup (7.1, SIM projector and a Kaleidescape System!). There was a charity event going on and there was a hot dog stand from Denmark in the store! After a donation we qualified for a Hot Dog and a drink. Thank you!

As far as I understood the store manager just arrived from Denmark, very kind and knowlegdeable person. Even after I told him that most likely i will bever purchase any gear in his store....

However, the beoliving setup was not working properly and also the size of the store is so small....no idea if this is the right way to prsent B&O in the US.

Not sure about the other stores in the US

Karsten

Unfortunately, most US B & O Dealerships, at least the ones that I have been to are very very small, to very small, and small. :-)

B & O is a niche business here in the states, and the great majority of folks don't know what B & O is all about. I can't explain it, but many of the dealerships I have been to have been of the small shop variety. A ton of B & O against one wall (lucky to find one with a Beoliving room), and a desk in the back where the purchase is made.

Oak Street was the most spacious dealership I had been to, and comparatively, even that store would be considered small by EU B & O standards. Being a boutique brand with relatively few models, one can understand the low square footage. But one does not get the sense of what B & O is about until one sees it in one's own home, or in another setting where B & O seems to both disappear into it's surroundings, or become the center of attention.

I believe more and more B & O shops should focus on Beoliving, and demonstrate their competencies in that regard. My vision (if I had a store of my own) would be an entire space dedicated to beoliving. It would be a masterlink nightmare, but it would immerse the customer in a world created by B & O. It would not resemble a shop as much as a media space... "Oh, and by the way, you can buy that speaker, and we can work with you to continue to develop your own home to match B & O's vision..." WOuld be a common tagline.

Enough of my banter.

-Sal

>>Not sure about the other stores in the US<<

I have been to the one in San Francisco, they did not have the SIm but the 65" plasma and II have to say I wasn't bothered at all by the size of the living room even though it was tiny.

I think when they start with projection, that might be a different point. The beoliving should have been working though, or they should not have demoed it. Maybe this is why they have a new manager from Denmark now .....

 JK 

The Oak St. store in Chicago is relocating to State Street in a historic building called the Tree Studios.  The store will be on 2 levels and will include the Beoliving concept.  I think it will open in about 3 weeks.

Glad you had a Danish hot dog, wish I could have made it. Troels is the new guy, very awsome, worked in Struer before. The B&O store in BH is going through transition so the theater not working is just a work in progress. Their store is small but they are also on Rodeo Drive, that is some premium real estate. Check out the Pasadena store if you get a chance, its 4700SF!!! Its also about 7 months old.

Joe