High-fidelity news often goes unnoticed by mainstream media, yet Sonos has managed to attract attention. The company’s CEO, Patrick Spence, is stepping down after the release of an app in May 2024 that has been largely deemed unsuccessful. This setback has resulted in a considerable loss of customers, a steep drop in sales, and increasing discontent among shareholders, while the required enhancements have been both expensive and time-consuming to execute.
A fresh look. Quicker access to your music. Easier control. The Sonos app has been completely redesigned to give you more power to personalize your listening. Available May 7. Preview the update: https://t.co/GozUmK5sJk pic.twitter.com/A0RGa47GDR
— Sonos (@Sonos) April 23, 2024
The Sonos board of directors has lost patience, resulting in the immediate termination of CEO Patrick Spence. In the interim, Tom Conrad, a board member, will assume the responsibilities of CEO until a permanent replacement is appointed. Spence’s departure follows the controversial launch of the app in May of the previous year, which had already sparked considerable dissatisfaction among Sonos users prior to its release.
The new app was met with disappointment by many users, as it unexpectedly removed features such as sleep timers and rendered local NAS music playback impossible. Additionally, the app suffered from significant stability issues and numerous bugs. A Reddit post succinctly encapsulated the frustration with the phrase, “Dear Sonos, what the hell,” reflecting the widespread discontent among users.
In the subsequent months, Sonos made efforts to address the issues, but these attempts were deemed insufficient and came too late. The final effort to restore trust occurred in October of last year when CEO Spence issued an apology and outlined several initiatives aimed at preventing future problems.
Ultimately, it appears that these measures were inadequate. Patrick Spence, who joined Sonos in 2012 as commercial director before becoming CEO, has now been succeeded on an interim basis by Tom Conrad. In an email to staff, Conrad acknowledged the situation, stating, “I think we can all agree that we have let far too many people down this year,” as reported by Bloomberg.
It remains to be seen whether Sonos can quickly rebuild the trust of its users and shareholders.
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