Nothing has been going well at Sonos since last spring and the launch of the new version of the application. Bugged and especially stripped of several flagship functions, this update has provoked anger and disappointment among many users of Sonos products. The company has since made amends and multiplied the fixes, nevertheless the damage was done - and the story still costs the company dearly, both financially and in terms of brand image.
Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos for eight years and the main promoter of this update, is leaving his post as well as the board of directors. He joined Sonos in 2012, after a career at BlackBerry where he was the sales director. However, he will remain an "advisor" until June.
While waiting to find a new boss, Sonos has named Tom Conrad, a member of the board of directors, interim CEO. In a memo sent to the teams, he explains that he wants to return to basics while expanding the product range, following the strategy of his predecessor. Sonos has launched in recent months an audio headset, the Ace, as well as new sound bars and speakers.
The first emergency, however, is to restore consumer confidence. "When something does not work, it is a problem for our customers and they are right to be disappointed by our failure," he also writes. "I think we can all agree that this year [2024] we've disappointed far too many people," despite launching "remarkable" products like these famous headphones — whose sales, however, remain relatively modest.
Releasing new hardware is one thing, but indeed "it's not enough when our customers' alarms don't go off, their kids can't listen to their playlist at breakfast, their surround speakers don't respond, or they can't pause the music in time to answer the doorbell."
Will Patrick Spence's departure be the electroshock that will allow Sonos to bounce back? We'll have to act quickly.
Update 15/01 — Sonos product director Maxime Bouvat-Merlin is also resigning. Internally, he is seen as one of the main promoters of the new application, along with Patrick Spence, the former CEO. New interim CEO Tom Conrad said in a memo that the CPO position is “redundant” since Conrad also runs that business.
Source: Bloomberg
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