People flush with cash and with an eye for design have spent voraciously on loudspeakers, televisions and mobile phones from Danish audio and video company Bang & Olufsen in recent years.

But in a sign that €800 ($1,022) mobile phones and €1,250 DVD recorders are no longer must-have items, the company last week said it would stop making phones, DVD players and recorders and instead stick to "core products" such as sound systems and televisions.