Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos for eight years, is leaving his position with immediate effect following the resounding failure of the launch of the brand’s new application in May 2024. Tom Conrad, member of the board of directors, is acting in the interim for that the company is looking for a new leader.
The complete overhaul of the Sonos mobile application, launched in May 2024, was to accompany the release of the Sonos Ace headphones, the brand’s first model in this segment. But this update quickly turned into a nightmare for the company. Users immediately reported numerous malfunctions: missing features, speaker connection problems and general slowdowns. This situation caused an unprecedented wave of discontent on forums and social networks.
Faced with this major crisis, management initially minimized the problems before Patrick Spence finally apologized by email to customers. The company had to invest between $20 and $30 million to try to fix the bugs, while postponing the launch of two new products. Sales fell 16% in the last quarter of 2024, and the Ace headset, supposed to be the flagship product of the holidays, did not meet with the expected success. Despite this, we voted it the best helmet of 2024.
In addition, the brand launched, without any announcement, via a simple press release its Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar and a new subwoofer, among the best in this market segment.
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A change of direction to regain confidence
Tom Conrad, named interim CEO, brings strong experience in the technology sector. Co-founder of Pandora and former vice president of Snap, he quickly recognized the seriousness of the situation in a message to employees: “This year we disappointed too many people. “Having great products isn’t enough when the alarms don’t go off, the kids can’t listen to their breakfast playlist, or the surround speakers don’t work.”
The consequences of this crisis were serious for the company. In August, Sonos laid off about 100 employees, or 6% of its workforce. The company also plans to change its work-from-home policy, asking product teams to come back to the office at least two days a week at its locations in Santa Barbara, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco.
A transition to a new chapter
Patrick Spence’s exit comes with a financial agreement: he will receive a monthly salary of $7,500 until June 30, 2025 for strategic consulting services, followed by a severance package of $1,875,000. The board has already launched a search for a new permanent CEO, while Tom Conrad works to restore the company’s reputation.
Despite this turbulence, Sonos is maintaining its development projects, notably with the planned launch of the Era 100 Pro at the end of January 2025, its first solution intended for professional installations. The company will, however, have to regain the trust of its customers and convince investors of its ability to overcome this difficult period, while its stock has lost 13% of its value since the launch of the application.
