Sonos says it’s ‘actively assessing’ what Trump tariffs will mean for customers

Even with all the self-induced turmoil that Sonos has been through over the last year, if you’ve been eyeing any of the company’s products, it might be wise to buy sooner than later. In an email, spokesperson Erin Pategas tells me that Sonos is “closely monitoring developments related to the proposed tariffs and actively assessing potential implications for our business, customers, and supply chain. At this time our focus remains on delivering the best audio experiences for our customers.” That’s less optimistic framing than the company gave only a couple months ago, but for good reason.

Like many other tech companies, Sonos thought it would be in a good position after mixing up its supply chain beyond China to other production hubs. On the company’s most recent earnings call, chief financial officer Saori Casey said the following:

“You may recall we underwent a significant effort to diversify our supply chain a few years ago, which resulted in a manufacturing of nearly all of our U.S.-bound products shifting to Malaysia and Vietnam. As a result, we expect tariffs to have a minimal impact to our gross margin in Q2 based on what we know today.”

The sweeping proposals announced yesterday by President Trump place a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam and 24 percent on Malaysia, making this strategy far less effective than Sonos likely hoped. The Santa Barbara-based brand is a relatively small company that already operates on thin hardware margins, so it can’t afford to simply absorb the cost of these tariffs. Its stock slid 15 percent on news of Trump’s plans. “Our inventory consists of $117 million of finished goods and $24 million of components,” Casey said in February.

But for now, as Pategas’ statement underlines, the company is concentrating its focus on improving its core user experience — and that mobile app.