75-year-old Danish electronics firm increases presence in area

BY CHRISTINE MANNA

With sudden wealth syndrome in overdrive, how are affluent consumers spending their money?

Enter Bang & Olufsen (B&O), the 75-year-old Danish designer of ultimate performance and high style consumer electronics. It is no longer enough for consumers to have a really great stereo. Now, they demand home systems with their own Feng Shui -- harmony between design excellence and technological innovation.

"Integration of audio, video, lighting and décor...product and passion...that's what you get from a Bang and Olufsen design," said Peter Beshouri, Sound Advice president and CEO.

Nineteen months ago, Sound Advice introduced its first Bang and Olufsen store in the Aventura Mall, offering the ultimate in high-design home theater and telephone products. Soon after, B&O opened in Boca Raton's Mizner Park, in downtown Naples and most recently, in The Falls.

"One look into a B&O showroom window and shoppers are stopped cold in their tracks," Beshouri said. "Once they step inside, customers see the latest in technology and cutting-edge design, not available in any other store."

A customized B&O system is not for your average Joe. Entry level Bang and Olufsen systems start around $10,000 to $15,000. A high-end system can reach several hundred thousand dollars.

Just like founders Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen did more than 75 years ago, sales associates in the B&O concept stores work with clients to build luxury entertainment systems that seamlessly blend aesthetics and function.

"Once we determine what someone wants, we go to their home and create a system that works for them," Beshouri said.

Bang and Olufsen is known for its contributions to the art world, as well as for advancements in technology. Twenty-one Bang and Olufsen products are in a permanent collection at the New York Museum of Modern Art and six others are on display in museums around the world.

Founded in 1974, Sound Advice Inc. has grown to become Florida's largest specialty retailer of high quality, upscale home entertainment and consumer electronics products, including home and car audio systems, video products, large screen televisions, home theatre systems, cellular phones, and other personal electronics and related accessories. With its unique, upscale store design, Sound Advice operates 24 stores throughout Florida and three mall-based specialty stores under the Bang & Olufsen name.