Strategy in TECH...
Sonos announced the financial results for its first quarter of Fiscal 2025, the 90-day period that ended on December 28, 2024. It was sobering news – Revenues declined over 10%, Operating Income collapsed almost 40%(!), and Net Income slid 38%. These poor results show that Sonos is starting out 2025, not as bad as 2024…it’s starting out worse.
Yet some outlets on Wall Street reported Sonos results were “better than expected.” With these numbers, how is that possible? Read on…
Sonos has announced that it is launching yet another reorganization (it had one in 2024, and another one before that in 2023) with a “reduction in force” this time impacting 12% of its entire workforce. It seems remarkable that at a time when it continues to struggle to extricate itself from the La Brea tar pits it fell into via 2024’s app disaster, one of its first solutions is to let people go. More than 1 out of every 10 employees has been terminated to “…improve the Company’s operating model and cost structure to set the Company up for long-term success.”
Sonance announced on Wednesday that it has named Tyler Kungl as Vice President of Luxury Residential Sales. Another in a series of recent hires, Sonance looks to be on the move, strategically increasing market presence and dealer support for various markets, both domestic and international.
Voxx International Corporation (Nasdaq: VOXX) revealed on Friday that it has received an official notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) informing the company that the fact it has failed to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending November 30, 2024 means that it is out of compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). The company said it had received Nasdaq’s official compliance notice on January 28, 2025.
Voxx International Corporation (Nasdaq: VOXX) has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informing them that the company will be late in filing its latest Quarterly Report. It has separately notified the SEC of new “Compensatory Arrangements” with certain officers of the company. The subject of the first filing is a regular Quarterly Earnings report – which is mandated by securities regulations. The delayed report Voxx is referring to is its normal earnings report for the quarter ending November 30, 2024.
The second filing – a Form 8-K – details certain changes to the employment agreements of CEO/President Pat Lavelle, Senior VP/COO/CFO Lorianne Shelton, and Senior VP/Treasurer Charles M. Stoehr.
In the wake of its acquisition by Bose last November, I have learned that there has been a significant shift in McIntosh’s go-to-market strategy. Multiple sources are reporting that McIntosh Group has terminated all independent manufacturer sales representatives. This move appears to contradict statements made by a Bose executive during the original announcement of its acquisition of McIntosh in November.
AVPro Global Holdings LLC, a company holding a diversified portfolio of top custom integration brands, such as AudioControl Pro, Murideo, Bullet Train, and more announced on Monday that it has selected Loel Wheeler to be its Vice President of Sales for Murideo – the company’s testing and measurement tools division.
In a move I have been anticipating for weeks, the Sonos Board has finally made a move and dismissed Patrick Spence as CEO as of this morning, Monday, January 13, 2025. The company has named a member of the Board – Tom Conrad – as an interim CEO, while a search has been launched for its next CEO.
Premium Audio Company (PAC), a division of Gentex Corp. that oversees the Onkyo, Integra, and Klipsch audio gear, has launched an interesting new series of electronics including an amplifier, preamplifier, and integrated amplifier at CES 2025 taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada this week. This new series is called the Onkyo Icon Series, a line of high-fidelity electronics that the company says is “a bold step forward in the brand’s evolution.”
Much like the last few years, exhibitors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas have largely focused on advances in artificial intelligence (AI). All major manufacturers spoke to it…none more deeply than LG, whose 45-minute press conference began with AI…ended with AI…and had a lot of AI in the middle.
