Introducing: Pete Ogley, CEO of Pure

In August 2020, Peter Ogley became the new CEO of Pure and has since been leading the brand through a new era of radio. Read on for his interview with Swiss publication CEToday, in which he discusses his visions for Pure and Braun Audio, his appreciation for music and radio and his assessment of market developments.

CE: How do you usually listen to music?

Pete Ogley answer:

Radio is a constant companion in our home. My family and I often squabble over who gets to pick the station. Usually it’s one of my kids who wins. But even when I’m traveling, which is often, I listen to music. I use headphones when I’m waiting at the airport or sitting on a plane. That way I get a little “me time” while traveling, too.

CE: What did you tackle first as Pure CEO?

Pete Ogley answer:

The team had been working extremely hard on two important product lines for many months before I started: The new Pure Elan series our Braun Audio series. However, due to the Corona crisis and the associated lockdown, the projects needed refocusing. So I got straight down to business, introducing new working patterns and encouraging the teams to make sure the new products actually got to dealers for the peak selling season. I’m really proud of what the team accomplished. It’s been a crazy but fun couple of weeks.

CE: What would you like to change at Pure?

Pete Ogley answer:

I want to put the customer experience in the foreground, to think even more from the customer’s point of view and to develop products accordingly. Pure has been around for about 20 years. Initially, the company was part of Imagination Technologies and very much focused on technology. Pure served as a vehicle to introduce chipsets and DAB products to the market.

Today, Pure is completely independent. We now want to focus more on understanding the needs of many different types of customers and providing them with products that really meet those needs. Of course, in order to make special and exciting products, we always have to fine-tune the technology.

But the goal should no longer be to simply bring technology to the market. Instead, we want to offer the customers a solution that completely covers their needs.

CE: You’ve been in the audio industry for about 25 years and have previously worked for Bose and Sennheiser, among others. What makes Pure different?

Pete Ogley answer:

The format. My two previous employers were much larger. Also, I’ve never worked for a UK company before. Pure’s simple structure makes it a very exciting company. We have the opportunity to grow, change and find our place in the market.

I can now even work with every single Pure employee, as well as those from affiliated companies – that way I have more personal contact with our distributors. It allows me to be more involved and help build a more agile company overall. Also, it’s simply fun to be involved in all areas of value creation for our customers.

CE: That sounds all very positive. What are difficulties for smaller companies?

PO: With every advantage comes a disadvantage. Large companies have the advantage that they are already established and well-known in the market. But especially at the moment, when the world and customer needs are changing so quickly, small companies that can react and act quickly are often better off. I wouldn’t trade small for big at the moment.

CE: How did the pandemic affect Pure?

Pete Ogley answer:

Radio never went away during Corona; on the contrary, it experienced a big boom. Many people were stuck at home and couldn’t go to the office. During this time, radio content became a constant companion. On the one hand, people listened to the news more to keep up with the current situation and government directives.

On the other hand, there was also the need to escape the situation. That’s where the radio could help with music and entertainment programs. I always like to think of the glass as half full, but I must also admit that Pure has felt negative effects. It has been difficult to keep a business going during the last few months. The supply chain was hit hard right at the beginning of the year, with Corona hitting Asia first.

When the situation in Asia recovered, the lockdown began in most European countries. We therefore had to completely change the way we worked. One example: Normally, before we start producing new equipment, we send a team of engineers to the production facilities in Asia. That was no longer possible.

So we had our engineering teams work in shifts starting at 5 a.m. so they could at least have live video conferences with production. Also, consumers were no longer going to brick-and-mortar stores, which was a tough time for many of our retail partners. We have a lot of sympathy for retailers and try to support them as much as possible during this time.

CE: Were you able to meet your new team in person when you started in August?

Pete Ogley answer:

No. Before I even officially started, I did exactly what we were doing for the interview: a video call with the employees. That was very exciting because you always get a glimpse of people’s homes. It was also nice to interact with other people again. After that, I went into the office. The team did a great job transforming it into a Covid-safe environment.

CE: How will you navigate the FM switch-off?

PO: We know what to do and what not to do once the time comes. Norway, for example, has already switched over to DAB+, and the demand for DAB+ equipment has been increasing rapidly. There was also a great thirst for knowledge from customers.

We will therefore ensure that we prepare our partners well for the switchover, have the right products ready at the right time and offer customers the opportunity to communicate with us – either via social media or through our online platform. We have also learned from our experience with Norway that while there may be a lot of demand, it will also decrease. So we will also make sure that our partners are not left with a surplus of stocks.

CE: Many consumers are now using music streaming services on their smartphones. What impact does that have on you as a radio specialist?

Pete Ogley answer:

I see it as an opportunity, not a threat. Pure already has products in its range that appeal to these customers. For example, the “DiscovR,” which I also use here in the office. It’s a radio streaming device. I use Alexa to listen to my favorite radio stations with it. Our hybrid products are also our most successful ones.

They can serve as speakers for smartphone content, but also receive radio signals. We have to give our customers what they want, not what we think they should have. So if they want to access content on their phone and still get great music service, we’ll make that happen. But then if there’s someone else in the same household who wants to listen to the radio in a traditional way, that’s not a problem with these devices either.

Right now, there are a lot of products on the market that are very smart. But to use them, you often have to become a techie yourself and forget how you used to operate devices. We want to guide people through this transition step by step. We are constantly working to understand how customers are adapting and evolving so that we can offer products that are meaningful and useful.

The reason why many of our products still have a screen and buttons, while many other manufacturers do not include those features, is because that layout is very familiar to customers. They like the fact that they can see the content that is playing.

CE: You just mentioned the Braun brand. Why are you bringing Braun back after such a long absence?

Pete Ogley answer:

Braun Audio was off the market for about 30 years. Bringing the brand back now is an exciting opportunity. Braun has always stood for products that are simple, useful and durable. That feels very contemporary. People are getting away from the throwaway culture that was present in the ’80s and ’90s, and they want products again that are long-lasting and well-designed.

The values that the Braun brand stands for are therefore in tune with today’s zeitgeist. Working with Braun was also one of the reasons why I came to Pure.

CE: What does the collaboration with Braun look like?

Pete Ogley answer:

We work very closely with Braun’s industrial design teams. They understand the user experiences their customers are looking for, and we can help develop and bring them to market.

They know what makes Braun Braun, and we help execute and handle the sales, marketing and distribution of the products. I really enjoy working with Braun because they have great people working for them who really understand their customers.

CE: Does this mean that here will be more Braun products after the LE series?

Pete Ogley answer:

I certainly hope so! With the LE series, we are launching three speakers – small, medium and large. And that’s just the beginning. We plan to continue working with Braun.

CE: What are your plans for Pure in the upcoming years?

Pete Ogley answer:

Pure should become a customer-first company instead of a technology-first company. That is our priority at the moment. We are currently very strong in the UK and have left our mark in other parts of the world, but we want to cement our market presence further.

This includes becoming more active in Asia. I see many opportunities there. And although DAB is not really a thing in Asia, Internet and content radio are huge. Even in Europe, there is more depth to be gained, still. But the goal is not to become a huge company. We want to be able to serve customer groups that have been ignored by the big tech companies.