Bang & Olufsen bullish on Chinese audio market

Danish luxury audio brand Bang & Olufsen sees big growth opportunities in China, its biggest single overseas market, as more local consumers are spending on a first-class audio-visual experience, a senior company executive said.

The remarks came as Bang & Olufsen is working to better resonate with Chinese consumers by upgrading its local stores and operations, as well as expanding its digital presence on e-commerce and social media platforms.

"The China market has maintained a strong growth momentum each year, driven by both existing products and new product launches," said Arnaud De Schuytter, president of Bang & Olufsen Asia-Pacific.

"We see so much affinity for the Bang & Olufsen brand and products in China－and a big potential to grow our business even more," Schuytter said, adding the company has been implementing a strategy since April 2020, which includes an increased focus on China where it wants to build a strong foundation for growth.

The senior executive said Bang &Olufsen has been targeting design and music lovers, with a particular focus on two distinct customer segments in China: the younger careerists and the very high net worth individuals. For the varied needs of these groups, Bang & Olufsen has different product lines to offer.

"In China, the influence of younger generations, including millennials and Generation Z, has been growing. We want to be a love brand for young people by establishing new relevance and customer connection that drives desire, loyalty and advocacy," Schuytter said.

In July, Bang & Olufsen announced Chinese musician and actor Lay Zhang as its first global brand ambassador in China. "The move underlines the great importance of the China market to our global business," Schuytter said.

Bang & Olufsen also selected China as the first market to launch its first true wireless earphones with adaptive active noise cancellation, Beoplay EQ, in July.

"True wireless stereo (TWS) earphones are a booming market in China. More and more people are using TWS product, and we are very optimistic about tapping into this market," Schuytter said.

Data from the market research company International Data Corp showed that in the first half, the overall shipments of TWS earphones in China hit 36.25 million units, up 32.1 percent year-on-year.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, a tech industry association, said efforts by the company to add active noise cancellation to TWS earphones are fueling consumer demand, offering an important growth window for the market.

"The entry of luxury audio brands such as Bang & Olufsen into the TWS earphones sector will help further grow the market," Xiang said.

Liz Lee, senior analyst at market research company Counterpoint, said the TWS hearables market will have a similar growth momentum as the early smartphone market did a decade ago.

Amid the market boom, Schuytter said Bang & Olufsen has been engaging with design and music lovers in the world for almost 100 years, based on its core capabilities of design, craftsmanship and beautiful sound, to easily differentiate the company's products from rivals.

As consumers increasingly desire a fully connected smart home experience, the brand is also doubling down on efforts to meet their demands. Since 1982, Bang & Olufsen has made it possible for customers to experience sound in every room, being first in the world to bring home integration to the market with BeoLink.

This innovative product allows customers to enjoy their music collections anywhere in their home, and it has developed into a system that Bang & Olufsen said can blend into customers' lives and provide them with an environment that suits their mood.

"Since its founding in 1925, Bang& Olufsen has been pushing the boundaries of audio technology," Schuytter said. "Aware of the changing market demands, Bang& Olufsen always wants to bring the innovative audio-visual products to our customers by combining cutting-edge technologies and new concepts."