January 11,2012, CES, Las Vegas—Bang & Olufsen presented an outline for the company for the next five years and introduced new products. The company is looking to reinvigorate itself after a few years in the doldrums.

They stated that sales were up 22 percent in the past year to $500M. Some company changes included a completely revamped marketing campaign that focuses on a 5-year plan that addresses six issues: build the company on acoustics, launch B&O Play, increase retail sales, grow in the emerging economies, transition R&D to a experience-based paradigm, and speed up and simplify execution.

They hope to increase revenues by a factor of three in the next five years. As the high-end audio provider, they will have to move down to more consumer items to broaden their market. They will also increase the design and installation of custom products through partners and continue to differentiate themselves in the A-V spaces. They have recently added the BMW marquee to their list of automobile makers, which include Audi and Aston-Martin.

As a part of the market expansion, they are redefining themselves as having two brands and one product. The brands overlap through their design values: B&O is subtle and works towards perfection while the Play division, geared towards the iPhone generation, is playful and outgoing. The overall design values in both divisions are for performance, humanization, and craftsmanship. The Play group is developing products in portable audio, headphones, speakers, and TV. The new division is called B&O Play. It is going to focus on portable and on-site devices, rather than the larger built-in units from B&O.

The Beoplay 12 is a portable external stereo speaker for Bluetooth-enabled players. The speaker has a total output power of 120 W divided across 4 amplifiers and has a sub-woofer, woofer, and two midrange speakers. It interfaces through Airplay or USB. The speaker box has a small compartment for cables in the back and the bottom is a single piece to eliminate leakage from outside surfaces. The top tray is rubberized to hold the player and the carrying strap is handbag quality Italian leather.

BeoLab 12 is a new speaker system that is easily integrated with large video displays.
The loudspeakers are placed flat on the wall and incorporate the Bang & Olufsen Acoustic Lens Technology that disperses the high frequencies horizontally in a 180 degree angle in front of the loudspeaker, allowing the listener to sit anywhere in front of it. BeoLab 12 is a full range loudspeaker with a ¾-inch Acoustic Lens for the treble, a 2-inch midrange unit and two 6.5-inch flat CosCone woofers for the lower frequencies pointing towards the wall. The 2-inch aluminum cone gives a precise sound, which complements the sound of the acoustic lens. The speakers have an ICEpower class D amplifier technology that provides 480 watts in total.

The BeoVision 12-65, is a 65-inch flat panel, plasma 3-D TV with integrated center channel and 7.1 surround sound. The frame and integrated mounting system has two aluminum profiles bent inward in a V-shape – one in black and one in natural high-gloss polished aluminum to create an optical illusion giving the TV a thin, light and elegant visual expression.

The integrated centre speaker is placed below the screen and consists of five custom made speaker units covered by a soft curved natural anodized aluminum grill with an intricate organic shaped hole pattern. The centre channel performance of the integrated loudspeaker matches the powerful BeoLab 5 loudspeakers in a surround sound setup.

BeoVision 12-65 also comes with Automatic Color Management to compensate for the effects of ageing that is common for the plasma technology. Automatic Picture Control feature senses the level of incident light from the room and dynamically alters the picture adjustments, so that the picture quality is maintained day and night.

New apps provide a digital locker for all your music. The apps can also help to find new music. The basic app is free, and the premium version costs $15.99 for full access capabilities.

As can be expected from B&O, these high-end systems all look and sound good. The company's drive to expand into the portable markets will cause rejoicing in the demographic of high-end audiophiles who are mobile.