Swiss hearing aid maker Sonova resumes supplying Costco, source says
Oct 28 (Reuters) -Swiss hearing aid maker Sonova SOON.S is resuming supplies to Costco COST.O, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Its shares rose as much as 7% to their highest in more than two years.
The product to be sold at Costco, a prescription hearing aid by the name of Sennheiser Sonite R which was specifically designed for the retailer, will initially be available in 107 locations in the United States, with a gradual expansion expected in the future, the source said.
The source added that it is typical for Costco to test sales of a product in a number of warehouses before a broader roll out.
The comments come after analysts at J.P. Morgan wrote in a note to clients that online reports on Friday had said Sonova was expected to replace Rexton as a supplier to Costco, after the Swiss company's previous agreement with the retailer was discontinued in 2022.
"I think there is the expectation already in terms of what the analysts are writing, that this will be, I mean, a gradual ramp-up," the source said.
J.P. Morgan analysts deemed the move "a positive surprise", noting Sonova and other hearing aid management teams had previously downplayed the possibility of a near-term return to Costco.
Sonova had previously been a supplier under Costco's own brand Kirkland Signature, the analysts noted.
"We do not believe re-entering Costco on the branded side will be worth as much as the previous KS contract, as Sonova will be competing with Demant and GN rather than being the sole supplier of KS," the analysts said.
The official launch of the Sennheiser product for Costco will come during Monday, the source said.
Costco was not immediately available for comment, while a spokesperson at Sennheiser Consumer division declined to comment.
In 2023, the company had reported a hit to its full-year 2022-23 profits from the loss of a big U.S. customer, whose name it did not disclose.
Sonova makes hearing aids under a number of brands, such as Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton and Sennheiser.
Reporting by Elizaveta Gladun and Linda Pasquini; Additional reporting by Neil J Kanatt; Editing by David Holmes
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
