The Legacy Of Bose

July 16, 2013 in Daily Bulletin

Amar Bose, the man who created the company that sells the famous headphones passed away at the age of 83 last week. Sam Grobart took a look at the legacy the man leaves behind:

  • Before Bose, audiophiles were deeply technical individuals who had a lot of cash to burn in pursuit of the perfect sound.
  • Bose changed that by marketing up-scale sound to the upper-middle class.
  • While the audio quality produced by Bose speakers was debated, the marketing was such that just like the BMW, and Ralph Lauren, Bose became a luxury brand that had a mass market appeal.
  • Before Bose cars would also have shoddy audio systems. However tie-ups with Porsche and other car manufacturers changed the expectation.
  • The company benefitted from the rise of mp3 players where the only peripheral that mattered were the speakers – a market the company had cornered.
  • Ultimately though, Grobart concludes that Bose combined “technology with status” because he “took things that were previously considered complicated and esoteric and sold them right down the upper-middle”

Read more about the legacy Bose leaves behind over here.

Source: Businessweek