The company which I have chosen to investigate is the top end entertainment electronic producer, Bang & Olufsen.

The first 200 words of this essay...

The company which I have chosen to investigate is the top end entertainment electronic producer, Bang & Olufsen. B&O is a luxury lifestyle brand, as it's their image, design and quality are not rational. Bang & Olufsen's image means that their target group are prepared to pay 'luxury' prices. B&O is the 'Porsche' of the entertainment electronics producers.

The only other electronic producer which is really anywhere close to B&O's standard is their main rival Loewe. Loewe is compared with BMW rather than Porsche, as they market middle to higher-end entertainment electronic products and are still far from attaining B&O's luxury lifestyle image. However, Loewe has managed to create a strong upmarket brand.

Both company's were founded in the 1920s, and both their main philosophy is focus on core business.

Bang & Olufsen's sales are increasing as they are gradually becoming widely recognised. This is shown in the table below:

YEAR END NET SALES PRE-TAX PROFIT YIELD

(31 MAY) (EUROS M) (EUROS M) (%)

2000 512.1 30.11 1.1

2001 558.2 30.38 2.0

2002 609.5 39.52 2.4

2003E 666.8 48.93 2.9

Source: Company data and Deutsche Bank