Has anyone heard anything at all one way or another from Sonos about the new app: defending it, giving updates on return of missing features to new app, possibility of rolling back to old app, full apology, etc.? I have not seen or heard anything myself other than their own backslapping on social media sites and on the top of their own website. I kind of feel like they just don't care about us existing customers and hope that this whole new app total failure "expletive"-storm blows over. I, for one, feel so let down by their "just don't care” attitude toward their customers that it would be hard for them to recover my loyalty and trust. Some of the missing features, like playlist and queue management and the playing of my local NAS-stored music, are absolute show stoppers for me and will drive me to quickly find an alternative to Sonos for my hard-earned sound system buying dollars.
From Twitter
”The latest version of the Sonos app is our most ambitious software update yet, and we know there is still more work to be done. To ensure all features meet the standards of our listeners, certain functionalities will not be available at this time. We appreciate your patience as we make future improvements.”
More work to be done? Then why the hell you force it onto us half-baked when you KNOW more work to be done? I know - MBAs and bean counters made you do it knowing full well there’d be a @#$&-storm and they could not care less. Sonos ain’t making their numbers and are desperate and grasping at straws. Right? Nothing else explains it. This company is obviously flagging. Sorry I have such a huge investment in it, but that stops now.
Even the dopes at Sonos, one of the worst customer serving companies in the world, must know that the new app is a complete failure and they should withdraw it until it is properly tested and ready. If anyone in “management” actually reads these forums, they will be actioning just that and then dealing with the incompetent staff who are responsible for this mess.
You have it backwards - management mandated this and there’s no way the app developers were on board with this crap. They are spewing the company line about it, but sure they know better. Top down from CEO needs ousting, or Sonos needs to be sold off to a more responsible company. They have lost their minds with this one.
My iPhone Sonos app is no longer available to me. It is unacceptable that I had auto-update switched off and now I have no access to the S2 version on my Sonos app to control my speaker system, just a message saying software update required. I am in complete limbo. Unconscionable!
A return to S2 is required, or a class action lawsuit to make something happen?
Removing functionality is one thing (Apple infuriatingly do it all the time) but to release an app with this many problems defies all logic. Do they even have a test team? It would be like BMW launching a vehicle that only started 50% of the time and then randomly stopped working/caught fire when it did. I cannot fathom why they thought it was a good idea.
“Does it work?” “Not really” “Launch it!”
Some clarity on this would be great. Fixing the situation would be better.
What a worthless answer. Essentially says that “we know that the app is lacking and we might fix somethings at some future point in time.” Just leaves everyone hanging with a pretty much non-functional app that has actually made the hardware functionality worse.
The Don’t Care attitude needs adjusting and perhaps changes to Sonos leadership.
I have been a loyal Sonos customer for many years and own lots of their products. I can’t believe what a cockup they have made of this latest update.
Like many of you my app no longer works so I can’t access any of my products. I tried the online Bot for help …..but it told me to call customer services.
l’ve been hanging on waiting to speak to someone for 1 hour and 35 mins so far……. The recorded message tells you to go online for answers and so it goes… round and round with no answers!!!!
An appalling service from a previously highly regarded company! I won’t be buying any further products no matter how many discounts they offer.
Appalled at this fiasco! Is anyone at SONOS listening???
I want to share some thoughts about Sonos and their recent product launch. Sonos needs to be cautious with how bold they are when introducing new products, especially when the reception is poor. Sonos heavily relies on innovative and successful launches to drive revenue growth. If their future products disappoint or fail to meet customer expectations, it could severely hurt their sales. I'm specifically talking about the launch of the new “App.”
Sonos isn't in a position to be overly brave, as their financials reveal. Let's look at the numbers to understand the situation:
- Stock Performance:
- Current stock price: $15.67 (as of June 7)
- YTD performance: Down 6.06% (-$1.01)
- 52-week range: $9.78 - $19.76
- Financials (Fiscal Year Ended 9/30/2023):
- Revenue: $1.66B (-5.54% YoY)
- Net Income: -$10.27M (-115.25% YoY)
- EPS: $0.92 (-23.33% YoY)
- Cash & Investments: $220.23M (-19.87% YoY)
- Total Assets: $1.00B (-15.66% YoY)
- Total Liabilities: $483.58M (-22.98% YoY)
- Key Metrics:
- Market Cap: $1.93B
- Average Volume: 1.53M shares
- P/E Ratio: Not provided (likely negative due to net loss)
- No dividend paid
The financials show Sonos had a tough fiscal 2023, with declines in revenue, net income, and cash position year-over-year. Despite a solid balance sheet with $1B in assets against $483M in liabilities, the stock is down year-to-date and well off its 52-week highs.
Now, let's consider what could happen if Sonos continues to frustrate and lose customers due to ignoring feedback:
If we assume a worst-case scenario where Sonos sees a dramatic drop in revenue due to customer issues like loss of market share and poor new products, we can estimate how long their current cash reserves could sustain operations:
- Cash & Short-Term Investments: $220.23 million
- Total Liabilities: $483.58 million
- Operating Expenses (FY 2023): $709.79 million
With a negative net cash position of $263.35 million and a rough annual cash burn rate of $709.79 million, their current cash reserves could keep them operating for about 3-4 months. This simplified analysis doesn't account for potential cost-cutting measures, debt refinancing, or other financial maneuvers Sonos could take to extend their runway. Still, it's not a smart move.
Here are some other companies that went down a similar path:
- Blockbuster: Revenue declined from $5.9B in 2006 to $3.6B in 2009, losing customers to Netflix. Stock plummeted from $28 in 2002 to $0.16 by 2010.
- Polaroid: Revenue dropped from $2B in 1991 to $798M in 2001 when it filed for bankruptcy. Stock slid from $60 in 1994 to $5 by 2001.
- Palm: Smartphone sales fell from 5.4M units in 2006 to 1.1M in 2010, losing to the iPhone. Stock cratered from $95 in 2000 to under $5 by 2010.
While these companies aren't direct comparisons to Sonos, the patterns are similar: failure to deliver successful new products led to rapid revenue declines, eroding cash positions, and collapsing stock prices. For Sonos, a series of failed product launches could deplete their $220M cash reserves quickly, forcing painful restructuring or a fire sale given their high operating costs. Avoiding such a crisis is critical for their survival long-term.
So, how brave is brave?
Having only 3-4 months of cash runway is precarious for Sonos if they face a revenue collapse. They would need to take dramatic actions to:
- Massively cut costs through layoffs, facility closures, etc., to reduce the monthly cash burn rate.
- Raise new capital through debt or equity financing to replenish cash reserves.
- Restructure operations to restart revenue generation.
Failing to do any of these sufficiently within that 3-4 month window could lead to running out of cash entirely.
For an established company like Sonos, with over $1 billion in assets, having such a short cash runway is very concerning. It indicates they are operating with a highly limited financial cushion. This "brave" new application puts them in a risky position, leaving little margin for error.
The moral of my comments is twofold:
- Sonos needs to listen to their customers. Forcing a new application that frustrates millions of users is not a good strategy.
- From a holistic perspective, betting on "brave" moves without considering customer satisfaction is risky. As an entrepreneur, I understand taking risks, but I question the logic here. Why wouldn't the CEO and the board prioritize happy customers, especially during a time when Sonos has also launched a new headset? Normally, you'd want to highlight your product's greatness, not its failures. Just saying.
Hello
Appalling behaviour.
I was also interested to see that you nominated three companies as exemplars. What about BlackBerry, where P Spence was very much involved in the build-up to its demise? Did he learn nothing??
And what about Ashton-Tate, which has so many parallels?
The new app is absolutely terrible. Why can’t you just make standard updates like everyone else? Nope - just want to force other products onto your customers making it super annoying to use your app.
From another post:
As a shareholder as well as an owner, you have a particular opportunity to exert pressure by sharing your frustration and disappointment via investor relations (if Sonos has such an office).
Investor relations contact
James Baglanis
301 Coromar Drive
Goleta, CA 93117
Email: ir@sonos.com
Kassey22000 wrote:
Having been a shareholder for almost as many years as I’ve owned over $10k worth of Sonos gear (purchased over 8 years), and having experienced past debacles from Captain P.Spence (of the Sonos Titanic), I sold off all shares two days after this disaster rolled out. Heck, even the preview link in the per-release email was broken!
To the superfans here who buy into the Spence BS that it’s just a few winers who always complain about new Apps, try checking out the recent Apple/Google app store ratings, Amazon reviews, BBB, Consumer Affairs, Trusted Pilot, comments from the recent Verge and Wired articles +++. This has NEVER been this bad superfans, and you know it.
BTW, I did write investor relations once I read that some Sonos leaders/employees were selling their shares right after the roll-out, and never heard a peep. Now I am writing to several investment companies to ask them to look deeper into what the leadership team has done to this once great audio products company.
Short-term thinking/planning + over-promising (even outright lying) while under-delivering in the worst way. That’s how Spence rolls. Time to put pressure on the investment community b/c clearly the board is blind or just in bed with the rest of c-suite.
The majority of us who are taking Sonos management to task WANT Sonos to survive and thrive. We have invested our hard earned money and countless hours getting our whole home wireless audio systems working the way we want the to, but seriously, this company is POORLY LEAD and it has to stop abusing customers and its once great brand.
What a worthless answer. Essentially says that “we know that the app is lacking and we might fix somethings at some future point in time.” Just leaves everyone hanging with a pretty much non-functional app that has actually made the hardware functionality worse.
4 years ago the CEO was forced to make an apology when they got the ‘bricking of older products’ messaging completely wrong. And again, now this debacle.
Will Sonos never learn and why, oh why, is the community having all the stress, and doing all the heavy lifting by trying to get a partially built app (that wasn’t ready) operational?
New patch has restored much of what was missing. Progress!
Progress? So, your favorite team is in the red zone, 8 and goal. They fumble and end up on their 2 yard line. 98 yards to go. 3 months, I mean plays, later, they gain 2 yards. It’s fourth down. 30 seconds left. You still love your team, but, progress?
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