Zound delivered second consecutive year of record-breaking performance

Zound is the powerhouse behind the Marshall, adidas and Urbanears speakers and headphones brands. The company is on a mission to become the most exciting alternative and number one challenger to the traditional players in the industry and has defined a bold ambition and clear strategy for its next phase of growth, with product and digital at its heart.

“The Zound team did it again, satisfying our audiences with outstanding products and meaningful experiences throughout the year while future-proofing our business with an exciting product roadmap for the years to come. We delivered another year of strategic, sustainable, and profitable growth with over 3 billion SEK in revenue and double-digit profitability,” says Jeremy de Maillard, Zound Industries CEO.

E-commerce sales for the full year surged 52 percent, outpacing total revenue growth in line with Zound’s digital first mindset. From a geographic standpoint, Zound showed growth on a global level for the year with EMEA up 25 percent, APAC up 73 percent and the Americas up 46 percent.

Zound launched several new products during 2022, all of which epitomized the company’s unique positioning by representing who people are as individuals and what they care about as a community.

Marshall’s highlights included the third generation of its Homeline speakers with a wider soundstage and built-to-last design, the Willen portable speaker to take Marshall’s iconic looks and signature sound everywhere with you, and the Emberton II, Marshall’s best-selling speaker, upgraded with 30+ hours of listening time, IP67 dust and water-resistance rating, and Stack Mode to connect multiple Emberton II together. Marshall also partnered with renowned creative director Angelo Baque from Awake NY to support the Queens Teens Institute for Arts & Social Justice by hosting a Leadership Art Workshop. There he shared his personal story, insights into building a brand and how, in the center of it all, music influences his creative process.

Urbanears launched “Boo”, the brand’s first true wireless headphones made from up to 97% recycled plastic, signifying the brand’s first steps toward being fully circular and climate neutral by 2030. Urbanears also opened a new creative studio space for DJs, creatives, media, and other partners to share the ultimate Urbanears experience.

adidas released the RPT-02 SOL headphones powered by all forms of natural and artificial light and made from recycled plastic and nylon. The brand also hosted a shakeout run ahead of the New York Marathon and won an Epica Award – a global competition that celebrates creativity and communication – for its “Running Billboard” campaign promoting the runner designed FWD-02 true wireless headphones.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, net sales increased 13 percent to SEK 1.078 billion and operating profit was up on the same period the previous year to SEK 127 million, equivalent to an operating margin of 11.7 percent. Zound ended the year with a net-cash position of SEK 555 million.

“We finished 2022 strongly, and we’re focused on carrying that momentum into 2023 and beyond. Showing profits every quarter in 2022, we’ve continued to strengthen our financial position. The improvements we’ve made in our business over the last couple of years has created a new baseline of financial performance for Zound and allow us to keep on investing for growth despite a challenging macro-economic situation,” says Martin Axhamre, Zound CFO and Deputy CEO.

The Zound Industries 2022 annual report will be published later this spring.