Vision & Legend

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2
Vision & Legend
Peter Bang at 10 years old, 1910
Augusta and Peter Boas Bang, 1902
Peter experiments with mains radio in a chilly sum-
merhouse in Liseleje, North of Copenhagen, 1923
“Nipper” the HMV logo
Chapter 1 - Peter has an idea: power or radio directly from the mains!
By 1899, Camillo Cavour Bang had become a man
of means. This enabled him to marry the lovely
Augusta Boas and move into a stately apartment
in Copenhagen’s Østerbro district, which he pro-
ceeded to equip with all kinds of newfangled
ideas – electric light, telephone, even a gramo-
phone! Right outside the apartment was another
of the miracles of the age: the electric tram which
brought Camillo to work every day at “Illum’s”,
the famous Copenhagen department store. A few
years later, he became one of the first car owners
in Denmark.
Peter Boas Bang was born on March 14, 1900 -
at the dawn of a new century whose early years
were characterised by an irrepressible optimism
and a fascination with the new opportunities cre-
ated by the new class, the industrialists.
At the age of five, Peter listened to a recording
by the famous tenor, Enrico Caruso, in New York.
Ten years-old, he read in the newspaper that the
same Caruso had performed at the Metropolitan
Opera in New York in what was the world’s first
live radio transmission.
Peter began to experiment with technology, pri-
marily radio. The experiments required batteries
and many of Peter’s letters to his father, first from
his boarding school in Nærum, later from the Elec-
trotechnical School in Århus, concerned money
– for new batteries. Constantly recharging the
accumulators for his radio experiments did not
suit Peter’s temperament.
This gave him an idea: to build a mains receiver,
a radio, which needed neither batteries nor an
accumulator. As he wrote in a letter to his father:
3
Vision & Legend Chapter 1 - Peter has an idea: power for radio directly from the mains!

The idea was my own. The accumulators were, in many ways, unpleasant to work with. Suddenly, there
was no current and then you had to go the charging station where there was a risk of spilling acid on
your clothes. I wanted to avoid that.

Peter’s mains radio receiver, 1923

4
Vision & Legend Chapter 2 - “A name to be respected within the radio sector”

Peter graduated as an engineer in 1924. Keen

to learn more, he was particularly attracted by
America where the radio industry was already
thriving. In 1922, RCA (Radio Corporation of
America) under David Sarnoff’s leadership had
started a production of Radio Music Boxes which
RCA termed: “an instrument that can be used for
listening to music, lectures and first-hand accounts
of world events as they happen.”

When Peter Bang arrived in America in 1924,

there were already 600 commercial “broadcast-
ing” stations – as well as a number of radio manu-
facturers. After 6 months’ work at one of these,
Peter in his Ford T, New York, 1925
Peter Bang, 1925
alongside a job at a service station, Peter was
ready to begin. He wrote to his father:

Dear Father, I’ve recently been giving a great

deal of thought to when it would be possible for
me to start my own business. I realise that, if I
follow your plans for my future, this will be in the
autumn of next year. I’m not entirely happy about
this as radio programmes have now come under
the Danish State, as has happened elsewhere,
and are therefore acquiring a firm structure. This
is what the public has been waiting for before
committing themselves to buying radios because
they have not wanted to risk the State suddenly
imposing a considerable annual fee. Next autumn,
sales of radios and equipment will increase dra-
matically and during the winter the public will
M/S “Nordfarer” in the Atlantic, 1925 begin to assess the components and the people
behind them. In order to gain a respected name
A pipe smoking Peter as a gas station attendant
within the radio industry, it’s essential to be in
at the start. I feel that the best thing would be
for me to begin preparations immediately on my
return home in order to be up and running from
the outset.

5
Vision & Legend Chapter 2 - “A name to be respected within the radio sector”

Another aspect is that I don’t enjoy working for

others any more because I only receive my salary
and I don’t have the time to stay long enough in
any one place to enable me to create something
and reap the benefit. Please think about what I’ve
written. I believe I’m right and look forward to
hearing your opinion as soon as possible because
I’m eager to know if you approve of my plan.
Love, Peter

“Kineseren”

Peter Bang, New York, 1924

6
Vision & Legend Chapter 3 - The fairy tale began at Quistrup

Peter Olufsen acquired the Quistrup estate in

1888 and two years later, married Anna Hansen
with whom he had seven children. The eldest,
Peter Danckwardt, decided to study Law and
French Literature. The second son, Svend, had no
wish to become a farmer either: he had merchant
blood in his veins.

Shy and withdrawn, Svend Andreas Grøn Olufsen

tended to go his own way, although his helpful-
ness and curiosity opened up many opportunities
for him. Experimenting with electricity and chem-
istry was an unusual pastime for the son of a West
Jutlandian squire in those days. The family, there-
fore, regarded him as slightly strange. Further-
more, Svend was dyslexic so he wrote even fewer
words than he spoke. From his time at Århus’
Electrotechnical School where he studied along-
side Peter Boas Bang, a fellow student, Simon
Petersen, recalled that physics exercises that other
students took ten pages to describe, Svend Oluf-
sen managed in ten lines.

Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, 1926

With his engineering degree behind him, Svend
returned to Quistrup where he began radio exper-
iments in the tower room – the room which was
later to become Bang & Olufsen’s first laboratory.
Svend had charm, he was always able to make
others do things for him. Nobody at the estate,
however, could help him make a radio. When
the mains receiver, based on his fellow student,
Peter Bang’s concept, was nearing completion,
Svend tried to persuade Simon Petersen to join
the project.

The son of a smallholder, Simon did not believe

Svend Olufsen, 1925 much good would come from this. Instead, he
advised Svend to contact Peter Bang who had

7
Vision & Legend Chapter 3 - The fairy tale began at Quistrup

recently returned from America with the latest

knowledge of radios and, in particular, how to
produce them.

When Peter heard about Svend Olufsen’s tower

room, he hurried to Quistrup to see the half-
finished radio receiver. Together – and funded by
the money Mrs. Olufsen received for her eggs –
they began to structure the project. Not an easy
task. The author, Johannes Buchholtz, a frequent
guest, described what he saw:

It was impressive – particularly to look at. It filled

B & O Eliminators, 1927
an entire wall in one of the rooms at Quistrup.
There were large spirals of thick copper wire:
there were trails of insulated cables and pocket
batteries which had been placed in numerous
places in the system to provide more power. The
whole thing reminded me of an altarpiece, per-
haps not surprisingly since it was the new great
god of radio that was being worshipped here.

The children at Quistrup 1906. Svend Olufsen is number The Quistrup estate, 1925
five

8
Vision & Legend Chapter 4 - Bang & Olufsen was run like a thriving farm estate

As Camillo Cavour Bang realised that his son was

involved with trustworthy people at Quistrup, he
asked the two young engineers to suspend their
experiments for a couple of days and come to
Copenhagen to get the formalities in order.
On November 17, 1925 the limited company, Bang
& Olufsen, was formed with a fully paid-up share
capital of DKK 10,000. The two founders each
held a share of DKK 4,000 while their fathers held
DKK 1,000.

Having decided on the distribution of the shares

to create equality between the founders and their
families and mindful that if the young people
were ever to disagree, their fathers would vote
The mains radio in the “cabinet” at Quistrup, 1925
for what they felt was in the best interests of the
company, Camillo was elected Chairman of the
Board. As it turned out, however, in the private
limited company of Bang & Olufsen, taking a vote
was never necessary. Everything was decided on
the basis of a friendly discussion.
The attic at Quistrup, B&O’s first workshop. Peter Bang
(right) with the two first employees, 1926

The yard and farm buildings at Quistrup. Anna Olufsen,

Peter Olufsen’s wife, 1925

9
Vision & Legend Chapter 4 - Bang & Olufsen was run like a thriving farm estate

Invoice, 1927

Camillo Cavour Bang, 1899

10
Vision & Legend Chapter 5 - The first years at Quistrup

Immediately after the formation of the company,

Peter moved into Svend’s tower room which
served both as bedroom and laboratory. When
the company needed an office, it was installed
here too. The only assistance was provided by
the cowman’s daughter who arrived 15 minutes
before office hours began in order to get the
director out of bed so that she could open her
office. As the wardrobes were filled with radio
and office equipment, Peter Bang’s dinner jacket
had to be hung on the inside of the office door.
A year later, when he needed it, it fell through
B&O Eliminator, 1926 the hanger. The constant opening and closing of
the door had caused the hanger to cut through
the shoulders.

Faithful to the concept of “power for radio

directly from the mains”, Svend and Peter worked
on a solution which they called the B&O Elimina-
tor: an aggregate which would connect a battery
receiver to the mains and ensure noise-free cur-
rent. With this new design, their persistrance was
Invoice, 1927 finally rewarded. Mass production could begin.

Quistrup was situated deep in the countryside.

Apart from the White Lady – a ghost which
appeared in the cellar and attic – it was ideal for
growing a new business. The cook lent a hand
with the punching-press under the kitchen stairs
and the household staff could be organised to
cover iron sheets with greaseproof paper for mag-
netic insulation between the blades of the elimi-
nators’ choke coils.

During this “wall papering” process, a consider-

able number of iron sheets were spread across the
Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, 1926

11
Vision & Legend Chapter 5 - The first years at Quistrup

large yard while the household staff glued on the white paper. On these occasions, the yard looked as
if it was covered in snow.

Squire Peter Olufsen’s large wall phone with the number, Struer 39, was soon – as was the rest of the
estate office – annexed by Svend and Peter who both made countless, long-distance calls.

More than once, Svend’s mother’s “egg-money” took care of the wages of Bang & Olufsen’s employees
and she even provided them with meals. In those days, it was inconceivable for employees not to eat a
hot meal at lunch time – at noon sharp.

The modern age arrived at Quistrup with some delay and several years later than at Camillo Bang’s
apartment in Copenhagen. Electricity, for instance, was introduced much later in Western Jutland than in
Copenhagen. The Olufsen family, however, thought it exciting to follow the new technology. Peter Bang
The yard and farm buildings at Quistrup. Anna Olufsen,
frequently had to explain to his father that there was no reason to leave this entrepreneurial paradise.
Peter Olufsen’s wife, with the providers of the egg
One of his arguments was that the customs authorities in Struer were helpful in finding favourable tariffs
money, 1925
for radio tubes from America. They cleared them at a lower rate than elsewhere in Denmark enabling
Bang & Olufsen to save more than 5 per cent on their material purchase.

The locals, however, followed the evolving fairy tale with a certain scepticism. “They are slightly mad,”
they thought. Nevertheless, most of the locals were happy to work for them.

When suppliers sought information about the company’s financial position and asked the local banker
for advice, he assumed an air of caution and said, shaking his head:

Well, they spend a great deal of money.

Is there a risk that they can’t pay?
Of course not. The parents are respectable people.

12
Vision & Legend Chapter 6 - With the “Five Lamper” Bang & Olufsen reached the first goal

Bang & Olufsen grew. By 1927, the activities had

spread from the tower room to the whole of
Quistrup and the estate kitchen now had 30 extra
persons to cater for. Feeling that their demands
on the hospitality of the Olufsen family had been
stretched to breaking point, Peter and Svend pur-
chased a local smallholder, Jens Lund Overgaard’s
property in Gimsing where they built a new fac-
tory.

It was, however, the fathers’ express wish that

the building should be designed so that it could
later be used as a school if radio turned out to
be just another gimmick. This, in fact, was not
an uncommon view – as newspaper readers knew
only too well. Radio is a fashion trend, a phenom-
ena, which like spiritualism, jazz and embezzle-
ment is a result of progress.

At the same time, Hellesens, the largest battery

factory at the time, which felt threatened by Bang
& Olufsen’s Eliminator, instigated a violent cam-
Quistrup kitchen girl with the punching machine, 1926 paign against the dangers of mains power. Bang &
Olufsen responded by launching a savage adver-
The advertising war, 1928 tising war against Hellesens’ batteries. The strat-
egy proved successful. By 1928, Bang & Olufsen
was Scandinavia’s largest manufacturer of Elimi-
nators.

Nevertheless, the Chairman, Camillo Bang, was

not satisfied. Granted, the sales of eliminators
were going well, but the factory’s real objective
was to produce mains receiver radios. Once again,
he asked the two bachelors, who were by now
living at the new factory, to suspend their experi-
ments and come to Copenhagen. Camillo’s con-
cern was especially directed at Peter. The time
The radio factory, 1927
spent on producing prototypes had to come to

13
Vision & Legend Chapter 6 - With the “Five Lamper” Bang & Olufsen reached the first goal

an end. The design of the radio had to be com-

pleted before production could start. They should
take the necessary time, but once the construc-
tion was completed, they should put one of their
former fellow students, Simon or Mads, in charge
of manufacturing. After that, they were not to
alter the design before a new model was ready
for production.

Peter and Svend returned to their factory, con-

sidered Camillo’s reprimand and agreed that
it contained a great deal of truth. As part of
the expansion of the factory, they set up a new
laboratory, assigning Peter Bang’s cousin, Harald
Linnet, the task of making an entirely new radio
from scratch. This would later be known as the
Five Lamper.

“Handsome Harald”, as Linnet became known,

had already experimented with loudspeakers for
cinemas and loudspeaker vans. He now proceeded
to draw loudspeaker membranes from a template,
cut them out and glue them together again.
Then, he glued on a chamois, listened to the result
and compared it to previous experiments. The
process was repeated until Harald was fully satis-
fied with the result.

Thus the legendary Type D loudspeaker was cre-

ated. But this was not the end. Harald also
built a new and stronger amplifier, a push-pull
amplifier with a self-designed transformer which,
together with the Type D loudspeaker, repro-
duced sound as natural as never before. In addi-
tion, the new model boasted another advantage:
the Five Lamper was designed to be powered
from the mains. All that was needed was to plug
The first loudspeaker van, 1929
it in. After that, it kept playing.

14
Vision & Legend Chapter 6 - With the “Five Lamper” Bang & Olufsen reached the first goal

The Five Lamper was not only a technological sen-

sation. It was also the very first radio with a cabi-
net in walnut with maple inlay, like an elegant
piece of furniture. Once Harald had completed
the wonder, Peter’s friend, M.S. Madsen, or “Big
Madsen” as he was known around the factory,
was employed to oversee production of what was
the market’s best and most elegant radio.

From a crackling and ugly apparatus, the radio

had become a beautiful piece of furniture which
rendered both speech and music in a strong and
“The Five Lamper” with loudspeaker, 1929 natural way. The creation of a dealer network
Svend Olufsen in his office, 1932
could now begin in earnest – and with that the
gradual establishment of the reputation which
Peter and Svend had both dreamed about. The
fairy tale was gaining pace.

Peter Bang and “Handsome Harald” (Harald Linnet),

1929
The radio factory, 1929

15
Vision & Legend Chapter 8 - “The Danish Hallmark of Quality”

In nearby Vinderup lived a young boy called

“Mik”, a painter’s apprentice, who in his spare
time, dabbled in commercial design. One warm,
spring day in 1932, wearing clogs and a pair of
shorts, he cycled to the radio factory in Gimsing
where, leaving his clogs outside, he asked to
speak to the director: I’ve drawn a trademark, said
Mik to Svend Olufsen. Let’s have a look, answered
a curious Svend Olufsen. The trademark immedi-
ately aroused his interest and he asked Mik what
we wanted for it. Five kroner, answered Mik mod-
estly. Svend Olufsen who was normally known
The B&O poster, 1939
to be careful with money, was pleased with the
“pregnant B” and bought it for 10 kroner.

“Mik”, Henning Dahl Mikkelsen, was later to

become a famous cartoonist, the father of one of
the world’s first wordless cartoons, “Ferd’nand”.
“Ferd’nand” was self-explanatory, just as Bang &
Olufsen’s design was later to become.

Inspired by the Bauhaus School, the “B” trade-

Radio Gramophone, 1930 mark followed the graphic style of the age. It
was immediately combined with the slogan which
Bang & Olufsen had registered the year before:
“The Danish Hallmark of Quality”.

Thus a trademark and slogan were born which

would remain one of the strongest and most valu-
able in the Danish market for generations.

Its strongest impact, however, proved to be within

the company itself. In those days, a significant
gap existed between the bourgeoisie to which
Peter and Svend belonged and the working class
employees, not least in financial terms. A worker’s
annual income was hardly more than the cost of a
B&O’s trademark in emamel. It appeared ouside numer-
radio and later, a radio gramophone. The produc-
ous radio shops until the late 70s

16
Vision & Legend Chapter 8 - “The Danish Hallmark of Quality”

tion of quality products for a target group whose

lifestyle the firm’s employees only learned about
through the cinema was hard for them to fathom.

In this respect, the banner above the company:

“The Danish Hallmark of Quality” was of great
importance. A fact that was further underlined
when Peter and Svend began to emphasise qual-
ity in expensive advertisements. The bosses clearly
meant it seriously. And as everybody knew, if
a feet-on-the-ground West Jutlandian promised
that only the very best would ever leave the fac-
tory, then he would keep his word.
Henrik Dahl Mikkelsen’s first cartoon featuring
Ferd’nand, 1937

17
Vision & Legend Chapter 9 - It started with a vision

Peter and Svend both had an insatiable urge to

acquire new knowledge. Driven by an incorrigible
desire to experiment, they dreamed of independ-
ence, of treading paths that had never been trod
before.
Peter wanted to create a name, “one which is
respected within the radio sector.” Svend had
bought the “B” trademark and formulated the
slogan: “The Danish Hallmark of Quality”. Far
from everything (apart from the West Jutland-
ians), between them they created Bang & Olufsen.
In fact, they owed a considerable debt to West
Peter Bang with staff, 1932 Jutland. Without the local area where the West
Svend Olufsen and Peter Bang, 1932
wind forces its own clear interpretation of func-
tional form when the local landscape - and where
diligence and frugality were dominant character-
istics - things could not have worked out. The
words: idea, quality and form recurred time and
time again in all they wrote and did. They set out
a vision for their company with these words:

Large-scale production of radio receivers requires

a great deal – first and foremost, of course, a
factory, the right workforce, the right colleagues,
the best materials, etc. In itself, however, this
is not sufficient. What is also required is what
one could call: enterprising creativity……..a never-
failing will to create only the best, persistently
to find new ways, improvements – all that which
enhances the name’s reputation and creates
respect for the radio receivers supplied to the
world under the Bang & Olufsen brand name.
This is why each receiver which leaves the factory
in Struer bears its name with pride – the best
of the best, both in respect of the interior and
exterior.

18
Vision & Legend Chapter 9 - It started with a vision

Peter and Svend created a corporate culture

which, through their own attitudes imbued the
staff with self-confidence and initiative so that
the creative urge and continued to increase.

This corporate culture was sufficiently strong to

inspire the work of generations. The culture
and its visible results attracted talented people
from across the world. The desire for continuous
renewal and creativity and the awareness of the
danger of complacency became so deep-rooted
that, long after the death of Svend and Peter,
these qualities continued to generate new ini-
tiatives for Bang & Olufsen’s development and
growth.

Radio 5 RGF Hyperbo 5 RGF

19
Vision & Legend Chapter 10 - A dressing-down from Ole Wanscher…
Beolit 39, 1039
Hyperbo junior 36 KH, 1936
Poul Henningsen (“PH”) at Rågeleje, 1960
“Only One Touch” has become a typical B&O product
feature since the 1939. At this Master 39K the listener
could access many European stations directly by press-
Hyperbo close-up ing only one button.
From time to time, developments were acceler-
ated by comments from outside the company.
In 1933, for instance, the architect Professor Ole
Wanscher wrote sarcastically: to make the radio
fit nicely anywhere is easily achieved by using
Caucasian walnut and badger legs or Chinese
Functionalism – like a theatre design conceived
by the furniture dealer’s youngest apprentice!
The Professor had seen the “Five Lamper” both
as a table model and as a radio gramophone -
and he was right. A year later, Bang & Olufsen
launched the modernist Hyperbo 5RG Steel, per-
haps in response to Wanscher’s criticisms.
…and one from Poul Henningsen
The advanced design, however, was only for the
few. Many of the products of the following years
fitted Professor Wanscher’s criticism. The architect
and author Poul Henningsen’s criticism several
years later was, therefore, fully justified. In a
review of the Guild of Carpenters’ Exhibition in
1954, where radio and TV were also represented,
although only at a special stand, PH wrote a most
critical review.
The review was illustrated by pictures of several
radios, the most prominent of which was Bang &
Olufsen’s high-end model, Grand Prix 1954.
This marked the start of an extensive collabora-
tion between B&O and some of Denmark’s fore-
most architects and designers. As a result, in the
latter half of the 1950s, Bang & Olufsen’s radios,
TVs and tape-recorders reached design standards
matching the best from the Danish furniture
industry.
20
Vision & Legend Chapter 10 - A dressing-down from Ole Wanscher…

The Five Lamper 5RG Funkis. The product that “inspired”

Ole Wanscher 1932

Hyperbo 5RG Steel. Inspired by Ole Wanscher’s criticism

1934

21
Vision & Legend Chapter 11 - The War

The Second World War broke out in 1939 and

in April 1940 Denmark was occupied by German
troops. In the following years, Danish industry,
suffering from a lack of raw materials, encoun-
tered widespread economic difficulties with rap-
idly rising energy and raw material prices. To
B&O, it was virtually impossible to predict sales
levels just a few months into the future.

Purchasing radio tubes in sufficient numbers was

a huge problem. Manufacturers of radio tubes
had been severely affected by the war and many
component factories were forced to restructure
production in favour of the war effort. Disrup-
tions to road transport and chaotic traffic condi-
tions also caused great difficulties.

The fact that B&O managed to keep its workforce

fully employed during the first years of the war
was due to its well stocked stores. As early as the
mid-30s, B&O anticipated the outbreak of hostili-
ties and took steps to increase its stock of essential
parts, enabling it to maintain radio production.
Master de Luxe 41 RG Master 10S
Despite increasing sales, profits declined under
the impact of rising costs.

Consequently, cost efficient measures were intro-

duced at the factory, including the installation
of a steam engine for generating electricity and
heat.

22
Vision & Legend Chapter 12 - “B&O Radio Teknikum”

As the War restricted people’s travel as well as

their leisure activities, Bang & Olufsen offered
its employees a programme of further education.
The three-year programme was open to both
salaried and hourly paid staff who wanted to
familiarise themselves with the theories of radio
construction.

The programme was named “B&O Radio Tekni-

kum”. Established in 1940 in co-operation with
Struer Gymnasium, lessons were held on four eve-
nings per week and, in the first year, included
100 hours of maths and physics taught by teachers
from the gymnasium or engineers from B&O.
Master 43K
In 1944, the Germans sequestered the teaching
rooms, putting a stop to the teaching and thus
effectively cancelling B&O Radio Teknikum. The
lessons for the High School students continued,
however, when Peter Bang made the garden
room of his house available.

Among the several B&O employees who joined

The British-made transmitter, which had originally
the Resistance, engineer Duus Hansen, who
been used for the underground radio service, was an
unwieldy box which weighed 15 kg and was difficult
headed the B&O department in Copenhagen, was
to transport discreetly. As all radio transmissions were especially important. His links with the Resistance
liable to be quickly traced by the Germans, guards had dated back to the earliest days of the Occupation
to be posted to sound the alarm when the Germans and in 1941, Svend Olufsen put him in contact
came too near. The size and weight of the transmitter, with the first British trained agents who had para-
however, made it difficult for the telegraphist to escape. chuted over Denmark. Their task was to organise
An added handicap was that it was built for alternating the Danish Resistance and Duus Hansen set up
current at a time when direct current was still widely an illegal radio service for maintaining contact
in use in Denmark. The need for a smaller portable between Britain and the Danish Freedom Fighters.
transmitter which could be hidden in an average case
was therefore obvious. Duus Hansen’s new transmitter Under the code name “Napkin”, Duus Hansen
solved the problem. Because of its handy format, it headed the illegal radio network throughout the
became known as “Københavns Telefonbog” war years. Along the way, he constructed the

23
Vision & Legend Chapter 12 - “B&O Radio Teknikum”

famous radio transmitter “Københavns Telefon-

bog”

Type G64A AGA Grand Prix RG, radio gramophone with record changer

24
Vision & Legend Chapter 12 - “B&O Radio Teknikum”

B&O shavers
Driven by the scarcity of raw materials during
the War, B&O launched a production of electrical
shavers. Problems of obtaining shaver heads from
Switzerland, however, meant that B&O shavers
did not reach the market until after the end of
the War in 1945. The shavers were made in several
versions – including one for ladies. Throughout
the 50s, Bang & Olufsen maintained a significant
export of shavers, especially to Italy.

B&O shavers, 1947-54

25
Vision & Legend Chapter 13 - The bombing of Bang & Olufsen

Partly because B&O refused to collaborate with

the occupying forces and partly because many
employees joined the Resistance, the Germans
threatened to blow up the factory on more than
one occasion. This was no empty threat. On
the night between the 14th and 15th January,
1945, just three months before the Liberation,
the factory was destroyed. Fortunately only mate-
rial damage occurred. The bombing was carried
out by the so-called “Bodilsen-Group”, a gang of
Danish collaborators.

Following the threats, management moved con-

The Danish entertainer, Børge Rosenbaum, alias Victor struction drawings and models to safety to private
Beocord 84U, 1948 Borge, with the 84U homes, but all tools and production equipment
were lost. Lists of parts and plans had been
copied, but offices and work sites had disap-
peared.

The day after the bombing rebuilding began and

on February 7, 1946, the flag was hoisted above
the new building. Yet another year was to pass
before the factory operated normally again.

Although, B&O received war reparations of DKK

2,300,000 in 1946, this only covered part of the
The rebuilt factory a few years later reconstruction costs. Two years later it was cal-
culated that the new building itself cost DKK 2
million with machinery and equipment adding
another DKK 1 million to the bill. Operational
losses during the year of reconstruction were,
JET 505K, 1947. A revival of the Beolit 39 from 1939. therefore far from covered.
Wood replaced bakelite because the bakelite press was
destroyed during the explosion.

26
Vision & Legend
Louis Armstrongand the B&O microphone BM3, New
York 1958. This microphone was also selected and used
in the Plenary Room in the new UN building in New
York
Integrated tone arm, 1958
Chapter 14 - When Bang & Olufsen refused to die
Mini Morderne 514K
Growing design awareness during the 50s. Audio com-
ponents designed by the Dansih architect Ib Fabiansen,
1959
Following the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the Danes
began to debate the pros and cons of joining the
Common Market for the first time. In a controver-
sial report, the Government did not try to hide
the facts. Danish agriculture would reap great
benefits from membership, but for some indus-
trial sectors, the Common Market would sound
the death knell. The Danish radio industry’s 20
small companies would, for instance, be unlikely
to survive the competition with the large German
manufacturers. The conclusion was brief and to
the point: Denmark’s radio industry faced extinc-
tion. The inhabitants of Struer would have to
travel far to find jobs.
The lesson from Poul Henningsen’s criticism, cou-
pled with the experience of selling semi-profes-
sional High-Fidelity equipment to the American
market, became the foundation for a new strat-
egy.
Rather than defend its leading position in Den-
mark – and its large market share – at all costs
Bang & Olufsen decided to go for a smaller share
of a bigger market, Europe. “The Danish Hallmark
of Quality” would now become the quality brand
from Denmark.
In line with this strategy, Bang & Olufsen
began to develop an entirely new generation of
stereo products, which were no longer to be pro-
duced in two versions. Instead, they were to be
designed exclusively as highly integrated, unique
products which communicated visually through
their design. At the same time, marketing activi-
ties would be directed towards a quality and
design-conscious target group within the new and
larger market.
27
Vision & Legend Chapter 14 - When Bang & Olufsen refused to die

TV / Audio combined. Designed by Ib Fabiansen, 1959 TV 509 RG

28
Vision & Legend Chapter 15 - The stereo gramophone became the beginning of the new line

Stereophony required a high quality gramophone

and a special pickup able to read the two signals
from the grooves of the record, which – when
reproduced over two loudspeakers – created the
stereo effect, filling the room with music.

To become the world’s best, Bang & Olufsen had

to ally itself with the best names in the business
– even if they did not live in Struer. And do it
quickly.

The choice fell on two of the industry’s heavy-

weights, one of whom was the engineer, H.C.
Hansen, known to his friends in many countries
Stereo gramophone, 1960 as “Black Hansen”. Hansen ran his own company,
later acquired by Bang & Olufsen, from a 4th floor
in a building in Gothersgade in Copenhagen,
a real inventor’s workshop. From here, he sup-
plied prototypes, based on his own ideas and pat-
ents, to some of the most important gramophone
manufacturers in the world.
Television “Horisont”, 1962
During his work, he discovered the optimum prin-
ciple for the stereo gramophone, the belt drive
which enabled him to discard the heavy and
expensive turntables in favour of lighter ones. In
this way, he achieved qualities well above those
of the most expensive professional gramophones
with very heavy turntables.

Dirigent, amplifier, 1962, Designed by B&O team
The other heavyweight was chief engineer Erik
Rørbæk Madsen, one of the driving forces behind
Bang & Olufsen’s pickup.
Since 1933, the pickup had developed from being
a heavy “record cutter” with a steel needle to
a feather-light micromagnetic unit with a sap-
phire needle. In 1956, Rørbæk brought one of the
first stereo test records back from a trip to the

29
Vision & Legend Chapter 15 - The stereo gramophone became the beginning of the new line

US. But he could not play it because the pickup

was an American manufacturing secret. Rørbæk
was forced to develop one himself which he did
without a model to work from. As before, his 20
years of experience with pickups served him well.

The result became one of the world’s finest stereo

cartridges. This was proved when the US mag-
azine, “Consumer’s Union” tested 37 different
stereo cartridges in 1960. Only three were pro-
nounced “Excellent”. Bang & Olufsen was one.

Prototype of the stereo gramophone, 1959 The respective efforts of the two pioneers were
combined in the integrated stereo record player
of 1960, which marked the beginning of a new
era. The objective of the product was to win Bang
& Olufsen a reputation as the world champion
among record players. It thus laid the foundation
for Bang & Olufsen’s entire audio and design
development until CDs arrived as the new domi-
nant media many years later.
Engineer H.C. Hansen (“Black Hansen”), 1958
Although “Black Hansen” could justifiably call
himself Production Director, he disliked such titles.
It is said that the waiters at Copenhagen’s Hotel
d’Angleterre, where he frequently had lunch,
were reprimanded if they addressed him as
“Director”. He wanted to be called an engineer.
And an engineer he was, like Rørbæk Madsen, in
the very best sense of the word, even if neither
of them had had the patience to take a degree at
Copenhagen’s Technical University.

Chief Engineer Rørbæk Madsen with SP 1, 1958

30
Vision & Legend Chapter 16 - “For those who discuss taste and quality before price”

In 1960, Bang & Olufsen’s head of advertising was Svend Aage Kirkegaard, more commonly known as
SAK. He once recalled how, as a young trainee, he walked through Bang & Olufsen’s main door for
the first time and promised himself that one day he would pass through that door with the title of
director.

As the company’s chief ideologist, Kirkegaard set out the strategic direction which was to lead to the
company’s international breakthrough and secure its existence in the decades to follow. His importance
to Bang & Olufsen was, therefore, immense.

SAK was West Jutlandian to the core and as many other Jutlandians, suffered from an inferiority complex
when it came to Copenhagen and its citizens whom he preferred to outdo at all costs. He regarded
himself as a European and the only thing which prevented him from leaving town, indeed the country,
was a deep love of Limfjorden’s wind-blown waters - and dried fish.
Svend Aage Kirkegaard, “SAK”), 1970
Besides the language skills which SAK acquired during his training as a foreign language clerk, he
had an intuitive sense for marketing. Over time, he also acquired considerable theoretical know-how,
partly through reading and partly through his personal contacts with Professor Max Kjær Hansen at the
Copenhagen Business School who, at the invitation of SAK, took part in a number of meetings arranged
for Bang & Olufsen’s dealers.
SAK admired the international success of the Danish furniture industry in the 1950s through the concept
of “Danish Design”. Before anyone else, he understood the significance to Bang & Olufsen of differentia-
tion and profiling and in the early 60s, formulated the sentence which was to become one of the decade’s
most prominent advertising slogans: “B&O – for those who discuss taste and quality before price”.

This sentence did not only become a strong slogan, it also became a key tool for the implementation of
the company’s new strategy, because, in a concise and straightforward manner, it explained to the staff
the goals and visions of the company far better than any long strategic explanation. Thus B&O created
the basis for a communication strategy which became as important as the product strategy had been.
Yet another of SAK’s talents was the ability to recruit the right staff – individuals who understood the
strategy and had the skills and background to apply it within their specialised fields.
Along with a few others, Svend Aage Kirkegaard clearly recognised the need for strategic change. He
also found the means to implement such change almost without the people around him being aware
of it.
One of the first personalities with whom SAK formed a close partnership was the graphic artist, Werner
Neertoft, who taught at the School for Applied Arts in Copenhagen. Neertoft also ran a small studio
in Birkerød, north of the capital, where he employed young and talented graphic designers whom he
had hand-picked from the school.

Advertisement in LIFE Magazine, 1968

31
Vision & Legend Chapter 17 - Werner Neertoft and a new main brochure

Neertoft was an aesthete to his fingertips and

deeply interested in visual communication – paint-
ing, film, typography and all forms of design. In
Svend Aage Kirkegaard he found a man with simi-
lar interests and in Bang & Olufsen a company
which needed his graphic skills.

He immediately understood the new slogan “For

those who discuss taste and quality before price”.
And he realised that the somewhat aggressive line
that Bang & Olufsen’s advertising had previously
adopted would have to be replaced by a more
sensitive, almost feminine tone, which would not
Werner Neertoft, approx. 1970 only appeal to the new target group, but also
match the new product design, setting Bang &
Olufsen apart from all other brands.

It was Neertoft who conceived the idea for the

Main catalogue, 1964
main brochure, a comprehensive catalogue of the
year’s products, which allowed the products to
speak for themselves without frills or distraction.
Between the product pages in the main cata-
logue, he created other “interval” pages that
aroused musical and other associations - lightly
and elegantly and in fine balance with the more
sober product pages.

With the main catalogue, which to this day

remains Bang & Olufsen’s most important and
most visible communication tool, Neertoft created
a comprehensive graphic line which, due to its
elegance and musical content, became a hallmark
of Bang & Olufsen.
Main catalogue, 1964

The task was now to transform this more delicate

form of communication into a different medium,
advertising, especially newspaper advertisements,
which formed the backbone of Bang & Olufsen’s

32
Vision & Legend Chapter 17 - Werner Neertoft and a new main brochure

marketing in Scandinavia. This task was solved in

partnership with Hans Clausager of the advertis-
ing agency, Gutenberghus, where creative staff
transformed Werner Neertoft’s line into advertise-
ments. In this way, Bang & Olufsen’s advertising
did not only differ radically from others in the
industry, it also laid the groundwork for interna-
tional marketing activities in the years to come.

In the same way as the products had their own

design language, Neertoft’s graphics differed rad-
ically from what had been the norm in the
advertising world. Where others emphasised the
technology of the products and engaged in a
never-ending search for superlatives, Neertoft
and the agency’s graphic designer, Kjeld Nielsen,
decided to express the joy and pleasure of sound
and picture in an unobtrusive, refined way.
Werner Neertoft’s “interval” pages
In partnership with B&O’s chief architect, Jørgen
Michaelsen, Neertoft also designed a number
of important exhibitions for Bang & Olufsen at
home and abroad. By emphasising the company’s
unique profile, the exhibition stands contributed
to the positioning of Bang & Olufsen in relation to
its rivals in the industry.

This provided further inspiration for mini-exhibi-

tions in selected shops. The “B&O walls” were first
introduced in shops in The Netherlands where
Bang & Olufsen’s agent had established close ties
with a number of dealers who installed simple
board partitions painted in “driftwood” colours as
the background for the products. The success was
later repeated in other markets.

The objective of these walls was to give Bang &

Olufsen’s product design a less aggressive front

33
Vision & Legend Chapter 17 - Werner Neertoft and a new main
brochure

than that of its competitors, particularly the Japanese products which, with their strong “military” look,
attracted much attention. In order for the B&O products’ character to be expressed clearly within the
shops’ cacophony of signals, a quiet background was necessary. Neertoft’s raw partitions provided a
Scandinavian ambience which also offered a strong contrast to the products’ sophisticated choice of
materials.

The exhibitions and the shop walls marked the beginning of an effort which would later become a
valuable tool for influencing the dealer network.

Werner Neertoft conceived the definitive new graphic style which, together with the products’ design,
communicated the company’s new identity and position.

The Hannover Fair, 1964

34
Vision & Legend Chapter 18 - Beomaster 900 created the breakthrough – and became a
classic

The first product created as part of what was, in

fact, a strategy for survival, was Beomaster 900.
Bang & Olufsen wanted to design a product so
unique that it would open the doors to distribu-
tion throughout Europe, in the same way as the
“Five Lamper” had done in Denmark 30 years
Beomaster 900, 1964 - designed by Henning Molden-
earlier.
hawer

Now it was transistors, not tubes, which for the

first time would be powered from the mains.
While the sound was improved, the loudspeakers
would also undergo significant changes, becom-
ing more compact. After all, in those days,
loudspeakers were foreign elements in the living-
room.

This was achieved with the pressure chamber loud

speaker which reproduced sound of a quality
which had, until then, only been possible with far
bigger boxes.

A long, low and fully transistorised mains radio,

which played immediately – with no warm-up
necessary, as was the case with the radio tubes
– was an achievement in itself. In addition, the
design concept challenged all established ideas
for radio design. The new Beomaster 900 marked
a revolution.

It was the architect Henning Moldenhawer who,

Henning Moldenhawer
for the first time in the history of radio, extended
the front all the way out to the sides of the unit,
breaking with the traditional framing of the front
which all radios, TVs and loud speakers had been
B&O’s new design style in an advertisement in Life, 1968 using until then.

35
Vision & Legend Chapter 18 - Beomaster 900 created the breakthrough – and became a
classic

This motif was retraced in Bang & Olufsen’s future

design language. It was even repeated graphically
in the company’s advertisements.

Beomaster 900 became a European-wide success.

At the same time – and much to the company’s
surprise – its share of the Danish market did not
fall. On the contrary, it rose significantly – at a
time when the last of the remaining Danish man-
ufacturers went to the wall. Proof indeed that
design is not only for connoisseurs, but is a univer-
sal language, at least when applied with talent
and as an expression of the product’s conceptual
content, i.e. making the product itself a communi-
Beocord 1000, 1965 cator.

When, some years later, Bang & Olufsen explained

its identity, this visually self-communicating aspect
Beovision 400, 1965 - designed by David Lewis
was dubbed “Autovisuality:”.
Concept communication in terms of what the unit
is and can do, communication between the unit
and the user, but also identity communication
between those who create the products and those
who select and acquire them as well as between
those who own the products.

Beosystem 1000, 1965. Beomaster 1000, Beogram 1000,

2 x Beovox 1000

36
Vision & Legend Chapter 19 - Beolab 5000 – The European High-Fidelity format

The TV boom hit the cinemas badly, which meant

that the pressure on Bang & Olufsen’s sound
engineers became less. The engineers’ love of
high class sound reproduction, however, remained
undiminished.

As early as the 1950s, they had developed stereo

systems for the installation of Cinema-Scope sys-
tems in cinemas. In 1958, they were also respon-
sible for the development of equipment for the
first stereophonic radio transmissions from Den-
mark’s very first commercial radio station, Radio
Mercur. When stereo started gaining ground, the
engineers found new opportunities for a come-
Beovox 2500 Cube, 1967, tweeter speakers, launched back.
with the Beolab 5000
The development of High Fidelity had already
begun in the US and a number of small com-
Brochure for the Beolab 5000 system
panies, headed by Scott and Fischer, had gained
a dedicated following. By 1964, Bang & Olufsen
was planning to conquer the new upcoming Euro-
pean Hi-fi market, a niche which ideally matched
Bang & Olufsen’s survival strategy. Now engineers
with more than 30 years’ experience behind them,
under the leadership of chief engineer Nikolaj
Krebs Sørensen, embarked on the development of
the world’s most perfect Hi-fi system, the Beolab
5000 series.

With its ultra selective tuner and a powerful,

distortion-free amplifier of no less than 2 x 60
watt, it offered qualities never seen before.
The design was equally sensational. In the US,
The linear control from Beolab 5000 where the production of Hi-fi components had
already started, they had found their form in the
19” rack format which was used by the first cus-
tomers, the radio stations. When Hi-fi enthusiasts
Jacob Jensen and Niels Matthiasen, Denmark’s Minister
of Culture, 1972

37
Vision & Legend Chapter 19 - Beolab 5000 – The European High-
Fidelity format

wanted quality tuners and amplifiers, they had to accept a design which belonged in the professional
world.

Bang & Olufsen’s brief for the designers was: “Create a European Hi-fi format, which communicates
power, precision and identity.”

This became designer Jacob Jensen and his assistant, David Lewis’ first assignment for Bang & Olufsen.
They solved it by designing the new linear controls like a slide rule bar in order to communicate the
greatest possible precision. Thus began the era of the slide rule bar, a motif which was used and varied
in the years to come.

The Hi-fi modules’ handles became countersunk Allen screws and the faceted and framed gold panels,
which were the industry’s standard, were, in Bang & Olufsen’s design, transformed into extruded natural
anodised aluminium.

Beolab 5000 became a success, not only as Bang & Olufsen’s flagship, but also in more affordable versions,
e.g. Beomaster 1200 and 3000 and competitors were forced to follow suit. Elsewhere too, knobs were
replaced by the linear slides – a development which continued until the mechanical grips were replaced
by the electronic “easy touch” controls of the Beomaster 1900.
“Design is a language which is understood by everyone…” as designer Jacob Jensen expressed it – and
demonstrated in practice.

Advertisement, 1967

Beolab 5000, 1967. Designed by Jacob Jensen

38
Vision & Legend Chapter 20 - Distribution – the key to growth

Bang & Olufsen’s strategy was to differentiate

itself from other brands by targeting “those who
discuss taste and quality before price.” Conse-
quently, there was considerable dependency on
the individual dealers’ commitment to communi-
cating and articulating the new initiatives.

The Managing Director, Ebbe Mansted, who, as

a former head of the FONA chain, had profound
knowledge of retailing, recognised the signifi-
cance of the dealers to Bang & Olufsen. Inspired
by the “Star Dealer” system in The Netherlands,
he set up a dedicated voluntary chain in direct
competition with existing dealers. Named the
“Beocenter Group”, the concept was launched
Shop design created by Expo-Competence, 1982 under the headline, “The individualist joint co-
operation” - a message which indicated that
although Bang & Olufsen wished to continue to
deal with specialist shops, it realised that joint co-
operation was a necessity.
Beovision 3500, 1973. Designed by David Lewis
In return for a high degree of loyalty within
the Beocenter group, the members obtained a
number of benefits calculated on the basis of
Bang & Olufsen’s share of the dealers’ overall
turnover. These did not only include favourable
price and service agreements. Through a series
of meetings with key personnel at Bang & Oluf-
sen, the partnership was further strengthened
through, for instance, joint training programs.

By emphasising the emotional as well as the com-

Beolit 400-600, 1973. Designed by Jacob Jensen mercial aspects of the partnership, an alternative
to the voluntary chains was created. The system
was put before the Common Market Commission
and after lengthy negotiations (and skilled lobby-
ing) Bang & Olufsen achieved something unique
within the Common Market – approval of its inter-

39
Vision & Legend Chapter 20 - Distribution – the key to growth

national dealer contracts which stipulated the

right to select and deselect dealers according to
clear quality criteria and with permission to deny
deliveries to distribution channels which failed to
live up to B&O’s criteria.

This made Bang & Olufsen part of an exclusive

circle of European brand name manufacturers
who could efficiently prevent damaging parallel
imports.

One element in the success was the establishment

of a department for shop design, later to
develop into the company, Expo-Competence
Beocord 5000, 1970. where Jørgen Michaelsen was particularly success-
ful at designing a large number of “turnkey”
shops with a clear Bang & Olufsen identity across
the world.

What began as compensation for the products’

lack of visual aggressiveness had been turned into
a tool for creating identity.

Beovision 600, 1970. Designed by David Lewis

Beomaster 1700, 1973. Designed by Jacob Jensen

Beosystem 3400, 1975. Designed by Jacob Jensen

40
Vision & Legend Chapter 20 - Distribution – the key to growth

Design and concept proposal from 1974. The concept

was the ultimate reel-to-reel tape recorder. However,
the project was never realised because, in the mean-
time, the cassette deck had become both a commercial
and technical reality. (See Beocord 5000, 1975!)

Beocord 5000, 1975. The first B&O cassette deck.

Designed by Jacob Jensen

Beomaster 6000, 1974. Designed by Jacop Jensen

41
Vision & Legend Chapter 20 - Distribution – the key to growth

Communication Manager Jørgen Palshøj meets the Beo-

center Group and launches “The Individualist Joint Co-
operation” theme Architect Jørgen Michaelsen, manager of Expo Compe-
tence

42
Vision & Legend Chapter 21 - Bomark and the Seven CIC

In the late 1960s, Bang & Olufsen set up a number of subsidiaries to replace the agents who, in the
early stages, had been responsible for international distribution. While advertising had largely followed
the Danish model, with some degree of national adjustment, a need for proper national campaigns
was now emerging.

Consequently, national advertising agencies, and their creative staff in particular, were briefed exten-
sively. The method was a common, written philosophy upon which the product and the marketing
strategy for the particular markets were based – the foundation for the international Bang & Olufsen.

Established in 1970, the name Bomark, headed by Keld Harder, encompassed an organisation structure
which, in many ways, was years ahead of its time. Until then, sales outside Denmark had been regarded
as exports and relations with agents had been conducted through an export department, which func-
tioned separately, but parallel to the Danish sales department.

Bomark led to the formation of an international marketing department to co-ordinate all marketing.
This meant that the Danish market was now regarded as one of many markets and that an overall
co-ordination of sales and marketing could, therefore, be implemented.

To do this, Ebbe Mansted established a working group under the French marketing strategist, Michel
Diot. Mansted also decided that the task was NOT lay a new foundation, but to formulate values and
concepts which were already part of Bang & Olufsen’s identity and then select the strongest elements
for the company’s international future.

The result was “The Seven CICs” (Corporate Identity Components), seven components which identified
The original 7CICs poster, 1972 and described the company’s goals and personality, its identity.

Seen with today’s eyes, it is characteristic that these concepts took their starting point in the products’
design. This, however, is only apparent because each concept was also applied to other components
of the company’s identity, so that the Seven CICs formed an overall cohesive picture of the company’s
objective, goals and special character.

The group’s success criteria was to gain acceptance of definitions aimed at interpreting existing, but
unexpressed, attitudes. The fact that it succeeded in accomplishing this was perhaps best illustrated by
recalling the immediate reaction, which was one of considerable indifference: “What’s new about that?
We knew that already”.
The impact, however, was significant, both on the staff and on the relationship with dealers across the
world. Although only a few learned the seven concepts by heart, there was general acceptance of the

43
Vision & Legend Chapter 21 - Bomark and the Seven CIC

fact that the Seven CICs expressed a vision and provided an operational management tool which gave
individual efforts a meaning and a purpose.

Although the psychological effect – within Bang & Olufsen as well as among the subsidiaries, agents and
advertising agencies – was considerable, the understanding of this was not in itself sufficient to manage
the identity creating elements. There was also a need for clear guidelines concerning the use of names,
logotypes, colours and fonts. These were to emerge over the following years.

Where most identity programmes today incorporate precise guidelines for the visual elements, but are
deficient in the psychological background important for creating acceptance, the Seven CICs became a
text book model for how a company’s identity can be built with the full acceptance of the staff.

44
Vision & Legend Chapter 22 - Beogram 4000: The problem comes first

The success of Beolab 5000 left no one in any

doubt. The next step had to be a complete system
of High-Fidelity components, first an foremost
the creation of the Bang & Olufsen High-Fidelity
gramophone.

Since the company lacked a mechanical designer

with the proven skills to guarantee such a break-
through, the engineer Gustav Zeuthen was invited
to join the team. By that time, Gustav had already
been responsible for many ingenious construc-
tions, the most notable being the Danish KZ air-
crafts (Kramme & Zeuthen) and the Rex Rotary
duplicator.
Beogram 4000, 1972
Gustav was unhappy with his Beogram 1000
because the pickup jumped when he danced with
his young wife. He therefore set about designing
a “dance proof” gramophone.

Jacob Jensen had already submitted a proposal

for the design of an impressive Hi-fi gramophone
Brochure for Beogram 4000, 1972
with a long and potent pickup arm.

Development engineer Subir Pramanik who, since

his childhood in India, had dreamed of construct-
ing gramophones, wanted his new pickup to
reproduce the sound in the way it had been
recorded, i.e. tangentially.

Gustav approved of the idea because he knew

that a short parallel motioned arm had low
weight and inertia which meant that it would be
more “dance proof”. By contrast, Jacob Jensen
disliked the idea: “Such a small willy doesn’t com-
municate potency”, as he unabashedly explained.

45
Vision & Legend Chapter 22 - Beogram 4000: The problem comes
first

The tension increased and the group was about to disband when product planner Jens Bang, realised that
the task had been wrongly defined. It was not about producing Hi-fi for a small clique whose high priests
basically regarded a record as a test tool for their equipment. It was all about
“A better way of retrieving the music from the record”, as Jens expressed it, inspired by “The Beatles”.
In future, the target group would be music lovers, not an exclusive body of High-Fidelity fans. As this
was a new and far larger target group, the advanced technology was concealed beneath the surface
while the tangential arm was chosen because it reproduced the recording in precisely the same way as
it had been made. A visually exciting detail was the second arm, an optic arm, which used a photocell
to read the size of the records and ensured that the pickup began playing in the correct position,
simply by pushing a button

Jens Bang explains that “the target group will be music Beogram 4000 was a major breakthrough. Applying the most advanced technology to make the music
lovers, not an exclusive body of High-Fidelity enthusi- as accessible as possible may appear obvious today, but this was not the case at the time. Inside Bang &
asts” Olufsen too, this went against the norms.

Bang & Olufsen would never become the same company again. The lesson, that the definition of a
problem contains the key to its solution and is therefore the natural starting point had been learned
– as was later stated in Jens Bernsen’s book “DE?!GN: the problem comes first”. Another lesson was
that innovation requires participation from talents with strongly opposing views. Such knowledge and
experience came in useful after the death of the High-Fidelity concept, which had been the focus of so
much attention a decade earlier, now was dead.

46
Vision & Legend
Beomaster 1900, 1975. Designed by Jacob Jensen
The poster for Beomaster 1900, 1975
B&O MMC 20 CL cartridge. A perfect choise for the music
lover, a few years before the CD took over. Still the
favourite of many enthusiasts
Chapter 23 - Beomaster 1900: A new positioning
Essentiality, simplicity (or essence) are two very
important ingredients in our product philosophy.
It has been decided to limit our products’ com-
mands to essential functions, eliminate all unnec-
essary gimmicks, because we believe that “Less is
more”. It is our aim to replace, with distance com-
manders, manual operations and movements. In
this way, we intend to associate the listener with
our products in the closest way, by connecting his
selections to the world of sound and vision. (The
Seven CICs).
Once Bang & Olufsen had accepted that High-
Fidelity was dead, it was decided to market the
company’s products as an alternative to the tech-
nically dominated Japanese brands.
With Beomaster 1900, the new positioning was
made visible, meeting the requirements of music
lovers, far removed from the Japanese Hi-fi
format.
With this product, Bang & Olufsen realised the
vision which had been born during the devel-
opment of Beogram 4000, namely to conceal
the technology beneath the surface and, with a
simple “easy touch”, reproduce the music.
A clear distinction was made between the primary
choice – accessible through a light touch – and
the secondary choice concealed under a lid hiding
what the user did not need for daily use.
At a stroke, the past, with its macho grip and
buttons, was eliminated. Instead, designer Jacob
Jensen created a new design language, flat
“flush-designed” and electronically communicat-
ing, which did not target a few techno-freaks, but
47
Vision & Legend Chapter 23 - Beomaster 1900: A new positioning

a much wider audience who wanted music rather

than Hi-Fi equipment.

Beomaster 1900 was acquired by museums across

the world almost before it had reached full pro-
duction. The fact that it became Bang & Olufsen’s
best selling product over the next 20 years clearly
demonstrated that the time had finally come to
kill off the Hi-Fi format which originated with
American FM stations in the 1950s.
To Bang & Olufsen design is not a question of
aesthetic matter. Rather it is the most effective
medium through which a product can express
itself in terms of idea, content and capability, as
the Seven CICs expressed it.

Beovision 3802, 1977. Designed by David Lewis

Beovision Controle Module, 1977. Designed by David

Lewis

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Vision & Legend Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink

Beomaster 1900 was so successful that, despite a

300% increase in production capacity, Beomaster
2400 could not be launched until one year later.

Beomaster 2400’s new element was the Com-

mander – the remote control – which no High-
Fidelity producer had even dreamed of making
before. In America, however, remote controlled
TVs had already become a reality and in Europe,
the first TV commanders, with a plethora of but-
tons, had turned up in Germany. A remote con-
trolled Hi-fi system, however, would offend the
high priests, who dedicated much of their lives to
Beomaster 2400 with link controlled Beogram 4004 and worshipping at the great High-Fidelity altar.
Control Module, 1977
Bang & Olufsen’s idea was not to supply remote
controls for its systems, it was to provide the
user with easier operation - to put the entire
selection of sound and picture in the users’ hands.
Although today, this is perhaps self-evident, this
was not the case at the time. Nobody had so far
dared to pursue such an obvious concept.

It did not take long for the idea to take root.

Soon afterwards, all Bang & Olufsen’s systems
Beomaster 1900 was followed by Beomaster 2400 a year
enabled the user to operate the system from a
later. The 2400 concept had originally been planned
commander.
as the first of the two. Beomaster 2400 was a break-
through concept as it was supplied with a remote con-
trol - the first remote control of an audio product!
The idea group insisted that users should be able
to operate the commander with one finger on
one hand, the thumb. This was vastly different
Beosystem 1700, 1980
from the commanders manufactured by other
producers where the many buttons meant that
the user had to hold the commander in one hand,
the manual in another while the index finger of
the third hand pressed the button selected by the
eye.

49
Vision & Legend
The complete Beosystem 2400, 1977
Beocenter Control Module, 1981
Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink
Beocord VX 5000, 1989. Video recorder. Designed by
David Lewis
Henning Moldenhawer dubbed the concept “the
feel commander”. This meant that the TV could
be operated by the thumb on one hand – almost
as if the user was feeling his way through a new
type of Braille, allowing the eye to concentrate on
the essential, the picture.
The culmination of the development of the the
“commander’s” came in 1985 when David Lewis
designed a Beolink terminal where the user, with-
out using his eyes, could control picture, sound
and light by applying a slight pressure of the
thumb. Incredibly, it could be used in all the
rooms of a house.
This marked the fulfilment of the product and
positioning vision, described in the Seven CICs. An
international legend had been born:
Bang & Olufsen collaborates with professionals
considered to be the best in their field, providing
that these talents have a message to deliver. That
is the reason why there is always an idea behind
each product. If an association of individualists
as a basis of corporate identity seems to be a
paradox, then it is because the very awareness
of this paradox is an essential part of Bang &
Olufsen’s identity (The Seven CICs).
50
Vision & Legend Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink

Beovision Control Module, 1980

Advertisement for Beomaster 2400

51
Vision & Legend Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink

Beolink 1000, 1985

David Lewis, 1985

52
Vision & Legend Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink

Beovision 3500, 1973

Beomaster 6000 Commander, 1974

53
Vision & Legend Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink

Beovox Red Line, 1984. Designed by Jacob Jensen.

An international loudspeaker success. The launch was
accompanied by the Danish composer and musician,
Kenneth Knudsen

Beocenter 9000, 1986. Designed by Jacob Jensen

Beovision Commander, 1976

54
Vision & Legend Chapter 24 - From “Commander” to Beolink

Beocom 2000, 1988. The first B&O telephone. Designed

by Gideon / Lone Lindinger Löwy

Beovox Penta, 1987. Designed by Gideon / Lone Lind-

inger Löwy

55
Vision & Legend
Dealer meeting in Athens. The largest ever professional
B&O event for dealers from across the world at which
the Copenhagen-based Danish Royal Ballet performed,
1987
Chapter 25 - And then: A new life-threatening crisis
Beosystem AV 9000, 1992. Designed by David Lewis
Most fairy tales begin with the words: Once upon
a time… and end with …and so they lived happily
ever after. This, however, was not the way in
which the Bang & Olufsen fairy tale developed.
The first life-threatening crisis occurred in the late
40s when development manager Harald Linnet
and sales manager Hoffman Laursen left Bang &
Olufsen taking many of the most talented staff
with them to set up their own firm, Linnet &
Laursen. Ten years later, LL was the creative hub
of high-quality ideas. Fortunately for Bang & Oluf-
sen, Linnet & Laursen later fell into disagreement.
If they had not, perhaps B&O would not have
survived this new challenge.
Other crises were to follow. The most dangerous
occurred when, in the 1980s, the company came
under pressure from Asian competitors and suf-
fered declining loyalty in the distribution network
and, consequently, falling revenue. For a time, the
company tried to create a survival niche by turn-
ing B&O into a Rolls-Royce type company which
focused only on exclusivity. Whilst concentrating
on outer prestige, the products’ idea content and
qualities were forgotten.
The main catalogue was shorn of arguments,
poetry and sensibility, portraying environments
with which only the rich could identify. Exclusive
interiors were promoted at the cost of the prod-
ucts which were almost reduced to vignettes.
The exclusivity was followed up by attempts to
buy dealer loyalty through extravagant seasonal
launches in exotic locations.
Bomark was closed down and the subsidiaries
expanded their staff functions to replace what
56
Vision & Legend Chapter 25 - And then: A new life-threatening
crisis

they had previously received from the parent company and which they felt they needed in order
to maintain the exclusive façade. Eventually, they became small princedoms whose staff were more
preoccupied with appearance than with their real job – that of selling the products.

Fortunately, there were exceptions, especially in Germany and The Netherlands, which, guided by strong
personalities, did not lose sight of the objectives, but quietly and steadily expanded turnover and profits.
This proved that the core problem lay neither in the products nor in the surrounding world.

The company had become cost-heavy and slow to react while the funds ran dry and management put the
blame on external factors, convincing themselves that earnings levels no longer justified the necessary
investments in product development. In the end, new capital had to be raised through a strategic alliance
with Philips. When these funds, too, were exhausted, further undermining confidence, Bang & Olufsen
was so close to the wall that it was difficult to see how its survival could be accompllished.

Only ten months after the alliance with Philips, the American business magazine, Forbes, wrote:
A beautiful face is not enough. Bang & Olufsen is the last of a dying breed. A two-tiered share structure
that keeps control in the hands of the members of the founding families provides short-term guarantees
for Bang & Olufsen’s survival and for its stubborn insistence on uninspired policies. The cash infusion from
Philips will cover the losses for a time. But the company’s longer-term prospects are darkening.

Beolink 7000, 1990. Designed by David Lewis

57
Vision & Legend Chapter 26 - When Bang & Olufsen refused to leave the stage

On a mild day in May 1991, the spring – and the

palace revolution – finally arrived in Struer, but in
keeping with Danish tradition, without much ado.
The Board installed a new Board of Management
headed by Anders Knutsen who presided over a
team which had grown up with the company,
knew its culture as well as its structure and real-
ised what could be pruned away and what was
crucial to preserve. The time had come to recover
credibility and financial freedom.

The first objective was to cut costs and to

unite the company behind its objectives. The plan
was given the name, “Break Point 1993” and
BeoVision Avant. Complete audio / video system, 1995. emphasised the competitive element in the task
Designed by David Lewis ahead. A simple plan, it had draconian measures.

The local community bled following a massive

round of redundancies, but West Jutlandian
sober-mindedness remained true to form. Even
some of those who lost their jobs admitted: “This
should have been done a long time ago”.

The survival which Forbes and others outside

Beolab 6000, 1992. Designed by David Lewis the company regarded as unthinkable was, once
again, brought about from within, by staff driven
by a deep love of the company’s idea and culture.
Harbouring an unshakeable belief that the indi-
vidual could still make a difference, they wanted
to return to their roots to revive their old com-
pany.
President and CEO from 1991, Anders Knutsen

58
Vision & Legend
Beosystem 2500, 1991
The Break-Point plan is explained in detail in the book
“Break-Point” by the Danish journalist and author Per
Thygesen Poulsen
Chapter 27 - The Break Point Plan
One such man was Henning Vestergaard who had
himself experienced the difficulties of running a
factory unit based on a stale sales plan. Years
before he heard about “Bench marking” and
“Mass Customization” he had, as project leader
for a study group, developed such concepts him-
self. Always prepared to think the unthinkable,
he was a strong believer in systems where the
customer’s order went directly to the foreman
who would, preferably on the same day, build the
product to customer’s specifications. Only in this
way could the material flow be properly managed
- and only in this way would the factory avoid
tying large sums up in stock in an increasingly
unpredictable world.
Based on Henning Vestergaard’s logistics con-
cepts, Anders Knudsen made a major decision. He
decided to remove the stock of finished products
and parts, from the many subsidiaries, by chang-
ing Bang & Olufsen from a mass-producing to an
order-producing company. Similarly, he did away
with many staff functions in the subsidiaries and
reintroduced a centralised management system.
A number of space-demanding activities disap-
peared and the subsidiaries’ imposing premises
were sold off in favour of more modest offices. A
number of executive directors were made redun-
dant, taking their privileges away with them. The
survivors had to deal with customers whom they
had hardly had time to visit for many years.
The main catalogue’s barren lifestyle was replaced
by statements from real life and the concept
behind Werner Neertoft’s main catalogue was
59
Vision & Legend Chapter 27 - The Break Point Plan

reinvented. Pictures, which allowed the products to speak, were interwoven with testimonials from
people who had actually chosen to buy the products.

Some staff had prepared themselves for this. These included a group of “boys in the back room” who,
under David Lewis’ inspired leadership, had begun an almost impossible task - creating a new foundation
for growth now the stereo record after 30 years of service, was being replaced by the CD.

With Beosystem 2500 Bang & Olufsen distanced itself from the stacks of black, anonymous boxes which
had become the industry standard. By launching a new, upright “all in one system,” David Lewis and his
group created a new, revolutionary format for audio systems. Several functions were integrated into the
system. The CD , for instance, was located centrally behind elegant glass lids allowing the eye to follow
the new tone arm, the laser, scanning the CD, while the ear enjoyed the superb sound.

An unconscious link from something secure and familiar, an upright spool recorder or a radio with a
circular dial to the light of a laser. This was how David Lewis created a new icon.

This was innovation at its best – and, in this case, precisely when the need was greatest. The objective of
Break Point was nothing less than the rebirth of Bang & Olufsen – and to secure its independence. The
means were “back to basics”, diligence, prudence and a vision. Based on the vision, the legend of Bang &
Olufsen was recreated – in a world where conventional wisdom had considered the task impossible.

The reason why Bang & Olufsen, as one of more than 1,000 audio companies in the western world,
survived as an independent company, lies in the strength of the vision and in the dream of “living happily
ever after” despite the occasional turbulence.

60
Vision & Legend Chapter 28 - The fairy tale has only just begun

Today we can clearly see how the sparks which Marconi, at the start of the century, sent into the
atmosphere have made long distances very small, making it possible to reach the global population in a
second or less, even by astronauts who have just landed on the Moon.

The pace is constantly increasing. It took 38 years from the first radio transmission to reach 50 million
radio listeners worldwide. TV took 13 years to reach the same figure. The Internet attracted its first 50
million users in just four years. As with Marconi, the most exciting aspect of the miracles of our time is
that they are only the beginning of something that will, once again, change the political, cultural, social
and economic life of the peoples of the Earth.

Bang & Olufsen, which grew out of Peter and Svend’s fascination with Marconi’s experiments, is already
far into research aimed at “humanising” technological advances, turning them into attractive experiences
by combining old values with new ones. Products are being developed which appeal to the senses before
they speak to the intellect.

Adhering to the Scandinavian ideal of economising with raw materials and maximising the idea content,
focus is now on excellence, not exclusivity. This is the platform from which Bang & Olufsen will accomplish
wide-ranging international perspectives. Always faithful to its creed: the best of the best.

One thing is certain. The fairy tale continues on a foundation of ideas and people who, driven by
self-confidence and common values, are creating what is inconceivable outside the world of Bang &
Olufsen.

61