Bang & Olufsen, the Danish company that designs and manufactures high end, design-driven audio products, television sets and telephones, is planning aggressive growth in China.

B&O, as it is more widely known in western markets, has entered into a strategic partnership with Sparkle Roll, a Hong Kong-based luxury goods distributor, and A Capital, a private equity group which specialises in investing in European companies.

A Capital and Sparkle Roll will together invest US$30 million (DKK 182 million) in B&O through a directed share issue.

“With the directed share issue to A Capital and Sparkle Roll, we have secured global alignment of interests with our strategic partners, which was crucial for us,” said Tue Mantoni, B&O president and CEO.

The strategic partnership aims at leveraging the resources and experience of the strategic investors in distribution, branding and local operations to assist B&O’s development in China.

During the last 12 months, B&O has acquired the operations in Hong Kong and South China from the previous distributor and opened a sales and marketing office in Shanghai to support the growth and offer full-scale support of the shops in China.

“The takeover of the Hong Kong and South China operations is an important step for us in our efforts to expand the business in the greater China region,” added Mantoni.

The existing master dealer structure will continue, but Sparkle Roll and A Capital will help accelerate the growth of the B&O brand in China.

GB