German brand Sennheiser to sell its consumer audio business

A partnership for the Consumer business will enable Sennheiser to place its focus and resources on strengthening its Pro Audio, Business Communications and Neumann business units, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.

New Delhi: German audio brand Sennheiser has announced it is looking for a new partner who can buy its consumer audio business (headphones and soundbars).

A partnership for the Consumer business will enable Sennheiser to place its focus and resources on strengthening its Pro Audio, Business Communications and Neumann business units, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The company has four business units in total: Pro Audio, Business Communications, Neumann and Consumer Electronics.

“In all of these areas, we see great potential for growth. At the same time, they are characterised by different customer groups, customer requirements, product life cycles and market dynamics,” said Andreas Sennheiser, Co-CEO of Sennheiser.

“To be best able to exploit the potential in each of these markets, we are concentrating our own resources on the three business areas in the Professional division and are looking for a strong partner to invest in our Consumer business,” Daniel informed.

India is among Sennheiser’s top 10 markets globally and the second largest market in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region after China.

Sennheiser had record sales in 2019 at 393 million euros before the slump in the market.

More recently, headphone sales haven’t been as good and the company cut 650 jobs worldwide.

The headphone market and the soundbar business in Consumer Electronics offer great growth potential – despite a highly dynamic market and strong competitive pressure, the company said, adding that this is especially the case for the true wireless headphone market.

“These are the strengths that we want to work with a partner to build upon,” Daniel said.