71 | 🏆 How Bang & Olufsen, Disney & Waterford Generate Premium Revenue 💎 with Michael König (Fiskars Group, Bang & Olufsen)

Michael König, former VP of Design at Fiskars Group, specializes in cultivating heritage brands like Waterford, Bang & Olufsen, and more. 

In this episode of Good Revenue, host Neeta Bidwai and Michael cover:

• The challenges heritage brands face modernizing while preserving tradition and craftsmanship.
• His experience at Egmont, transforming Disney’s IP into a digital subscription model.
• How prototype testing with real customers broke a stalemate at Bang & Olufsen and drove mission-critical alignment across teams and stakeholders, fueling future innovation.
• How he successfully led design across 12 Fiskars Group brands, emphasizing the importance of storytelling, branding, and craftsmanship to stand out in a competitive market.
• Insights on managing design studios, implementing big strategies, and making tough decisions to discontinue products.
• What smaller craft-centered firm can learn from successful heritage brands, the need to connect vision, strategy, and execution, and the importance of quality over speed in achieving long-term success.

Join us for a deep discussion of the intricate challenges faced by companies dedicated to craftsmanship while navigating the complexities of the modern world.

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Where to find Michael:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkonigcph/ 

Where to find Neeta:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neetabidwai/

Where to find Good Revenue:

https://goodrevenue.io/goodrevenue

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHrhuWbpYnUwrR75H2Ip4yQ

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Highilghts: 

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:26 Michael's Journey to Heritage Brands

01:18 Challenges of Modernizing Heritage Brands

02:56 Success with Egmont Publishing

04:55 Inspiration from Netflix's Business Model

07:45 Innovations at Bang & Olufsen

13:05 Prototyping and Consumer Testing

14:59 The Vanishing Middle Market

20:14 Fiskars and Craftsmanship

24:34 Navigating Organizational Change

26:02 Managing Multiple Design Studios

27:59 The Power of Storytelling in Branding

32:31 Bringing Design In-House

36:03 Challenges in Smaller Firms

41:36 The Million Dollar Kitchen Project

44:34 The Value of Speed vs. Quality

46:13 Connecting Vision, Strategy, and Execution

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Referenced:

Bang & Olufsen: https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/us

Fiskars Group: https://fiskarsgroup.com/

Royal Copenhagen: https://www.royalcopenhagen.com/en-us

Waterford: https://www.waterford.com/en-us 

Iittala: https://www.iittala.com/en-gb

Georg Jensen: https://www.georgjensen.com/en-us 

Wedgwood: https://www.wedgwood.com/en-us 

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