This October, Sonos invited 50 dealers from across Europe to participate in its first regional ‘dealer appreciation event’, at the Molitor Hotel & Spa in Paris, providing an opportunity for Sonos to listen to feedback, workshop ideas, and gather valuable input from the trusted partners in the channel.
The first Sonos Dealer Appreciation Event (DAE) Europe brought together partners and members of the EU Sonos Advisory Board from across the continent, with representation from the UK, France, DACH, Nordics, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. The event was hosted by Stephen Rhead, installed solutions manager UK and Ireland, Sonos Professionals.
Following a welcome dinner on the first night, the one-day summit included a morning of business presentations and focus group discussions, then an afternoon of product demonstrations including the new Sonos Era 100 Pro and Arc Ultra, with feedback on future concepts.
Sessions were presented by senior Sonos leaders from multiple departments, including professional product management, product marketing, professional partnerships, and training.
Rhead said: “We’ve had challenges this year, so gaining valuable input from our dealers on how we can do better is incredibly important for our business. We opened the floor with opportunities to ask questions, share ideas and shape our future strategy for the installation market.”
Attendee Alan Smith, from AT & C in the UK, commented, “I found the event itself and the presentations very insightful. It was well-structured giving a lot of great opportunity for us (the dealers) to voice our opinions, which I felt was key. It also provided a vision of the future with Sonos which, from a commercial perspective, was exciting. The release of the Era 100 Pro is a significant development for our Sonos business. It represents a leap forward in integration capabilities, which will greatly enhance our offerings to clients and bring Sonos into the core offerings for light commercial projects.”
Another attendee, Michel Fink, of Spline in Switzerland, said, “My personal highlight was to talk to the Sonos (Global) team and discuss our experiences and requirements, be it software or hardware. I liked the fact that there were a lot of questions asked from dealers and from Sonos, with most of them answered. I also had the impression that the unanswered questions were an important part of the conversation to be continued. I find it very valuable to be a part of this conversation.”
Alex Jones, director of Potters Home Digital, added: “The presence from the Sonos Global team at the DAE Paris event was fantastic, with members presenting the different evolutions from their respective internal departments. It was extremely insightful and powerful to be able to hear from individuals directly involved in developments, ask questions, and provide feedback which was listened to and valued.”
The event concluded with a meal at contemporary Parisian restaurant Le Petit Poucet, which translates to ‘Little Thumb’ in English, overlooking the La Seine.
