5 days Ago By David Richards
As tipped by ChannelNews Australians are set to be hit by Trumps Tariffs with both Sony and Audio Pro moving to lift the price of their goods globally in an effort to minimise the impact on their bottom line. The move by audio Companies comes as audio specialists struggle in what has been described as a difficult start to 2025. Sony who is trying to make a comeback in the TV market is raising the price of its PlayStation 5 game console in Australia claiming the move has been facilitated by the raising of tariffs that have “created a challenging economic environment”.
Initial Sony Playstation price rises price rises are tipped to be 11% with other Sony categories including their audio and headphone divisions yet to confirm the extent of price rises. Audio Pro CEO, Nils Ankarcrona, said that the Westan distributed brand is set to increase prices 20% with the initial price rises set to be 20% in the USA with a 10% rise tipped for global markets including Australia. “We will be increasing prices by 20 per cent in the US market as of April 15.
This is a necessary step due to rising costs in our supply chain and imports.” he said overnight. This response is unavoidable, said Ankarcrona, as the constantly changing situation means the firm has been forced to take a defensive stance.
“Currently, we do not plan to make changes to our supply chain, as we believe we are already operating in an efficient and optimized way. Our current setup ensures high quality and reliable delivery. However, the future of the tariffs remains uncertain – both in terms of duration and rate – which makes it difficult to take long-term decisions at this stage.
Analysts said the levies could push up the price of the four-year-old console because Sony typically tries to maintain relatively even pricing around the world. Serkan Toto, head of games consultancy Kantan Games, said that by raising prices, Sony was probably paving the way for a significant price increase in the US. David Gibson, at MST Financial told the FT in London that Sony’s decision to raise prices outside the US could have been driven by an attempt to partially offset what was likely to be a significant negative impact for console sales in the US once the tariffs hit.
Analyst Pelham Smithers said: “It does make sense to raise prices elsewhere at this time of year, since demand is seasonally weak anyway, and customers would suffer less sticker shock later in the year when seasonal demand picks up.” Other console makers have been seeking to counteract the US-China trade war through alternative means. Nintendo has been shifting production to Vietnam ahead of the launch of the Switch 2 and has delayed US pre-orders on account of the duties.
Cambridge Audio owner and CEO, James Johnson-Flint, mirrored Ankarcrona’s focus on uncertainty in an interview with Future Publishing. He claimed that the tariffs are particularly difficult for audio brands, which rely heavily on some of the hardest hit countries for parts and manufacturing. “The tariff news we have all received is nothing short of worrying for the US population as a whole, and the impact it will inevitably have on the prices of almost everything they buy.
Even if a product isn’t made in China, or in other countries outside the USA, it’s probably made from parts that are, or with an overseas contribution in the supply chain,” he said. Another brand tipped to raise prices globally is LG Electronics. “LG Electronics is closely monitoring the evolving international trade landscape and exploring various scenarios accordingly,” an LG spokesperson said.
A Yamaha executive said said “It is impossible to predict how the tariff situation will be settled. We will continue monitoring the situation, and only adjust pricing if it is necessary,”. According to sources several brands are tipped to announce price rises globally this week.
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