Tariffs Hit Sonos: Price Hikes Coming Worldwide
In 2025, Sonos has to increase prices for speakers, and headphones. worldwide. Customs of up to 20 percent are to blame, and EU is also affected. At the same time, the audio manufacturer plans a surprising smart home partnership.
Customs forced to price adjustments
The audio manufacturer Sonos faces inevitable price increases in 2025. CEO Tom Conrad announced during the presentation of the current quarterly figures (via Bloomberg) that the company has to raise the prices for various products. This is responsible for this, new US import tariffs on goods from Vietnam and Malaysia, where Sonos has its speakers and soundbars manufactured. The customs pollution is 20 percent for Vietnamese and 19 percent for Malaysian imports. Sonos does not want to bear these additional costs alone, but rather spreads all markets globally. As a result, individual regions should not be disproportionately burdened and international competitiveness should be preserved. German customers must therefore also prepare for higher prices.
Mixed business figures
The quarterly balance of Sonos shows a mixed picture. With sales of $ 344.8 million and a gross profit of $ 150 million, the company generated solid income in the third business quarter. Nevertheless, there is a net loss of $ 3.4 million, caused by increased operating costs and tax burdens. Furthermore, Sonos fights with the consequences of the devastating app update in May 2024.
The new software removed numerous proven functions and made serious mistakes, which led to continuing customer criticism. Conrad already stroked the planned video streaming device with the code name “Pinewood” and instead focuses on the resources to improve mobile use. And then also that: Sonos confirms melting premium speakers
Smart Home expansion with Philips Hue
A significant innovation is paved at Sonos Voice Control. The in-house voice assistant should enable the control of Philips hue lighting before the end of 2025. Users could then switch on and off via their Sonos speakers Hue lamps, regulate the brightness and activate predefined light scenes. No revolution, but at least progress. The voice commands are processed locally on the devices, similar to the existing Sonos Voice-Control commands.
Transfer via external cloud server is not necessary, which improves data protection and reaction speed. Philips Hue would be Sonos’ first external partner in this area. After a conflict, Sonos has already removed the Google Assistant from its devices, other external voice assistants could follow – the focus is increasing in the company.
