Why the huge increase in the price of Sonus Farber Amanti G5 speakers.

I don’t know.  Something’s changed.  Long ago and far away I had a small gaming store ( when D&D was at its peak).  The markup on the things we sold ranged from 20%-37%. I also managed a restaurant when I was in college and the margins there were similar, except for drinks.  If it wasn’t for that cup of coffee or glass of Pepsi, we probably would have gone under.  We started selling wine and beer later on and the profit was crazy good, but not 100%!  I have seen dealer price sheets on hifi gear and the profit margins on some items are as much as 200%!
They’re saying that there’s fewer and fewer young people coming into this hobby.  I bet I can guess one good reason why. ☹️

A 27% standard increase across all SF products in Australia since 1 June.

Couldn't possibly be tariffs (they're unchanged), and the levels of inflation in Italy (1.6%) and Australia (2.4%) are far below stated increases.

However, if we challenge the surface-level explanations - which are speculatory at best, and we strip away the typical PR justifications and focus on a realistic, business-driven interpretation, I believe we would end up with a combination of 1) premium branding strategy - off the back of increased competition in the high-end market; 2) they’re raising prices because they can, and assume the risk of pushback to be minimal. 

Hence, this isn't about inflation (or tariffs). It's about deliberate market strategy.

@1bitsoul if you are right about that, and what you say makes sense, it will be interesting to see if this strategy works. I can’t imagine their dealers are all that thrilled. That price increase is enough to push them into a range of speakers that are likely in a little different category than the competition they have traditionally faced. The big brains at Bose obviously have studied this, but so did the folks who brought us “new Coke.“

Without a doubt the Covid thing opened the door to price gouging. There was disruptions in all areas but many opportunistic gouging mother ……s were born. Covid is long gone few if any reversed their excessive charges. SF is no different except in my opinion they weren’t worth the money in the first place. Outside the Uber pretty woodwork the sound quality was achieved by many for far less. Outside of pompous bragging rights for a select view there isn’t an endless list of younger folks willing to drop the coin for priceless end tables. Enter the reason for company selling in the first place, make the product develop a following watch the market and get out before the pendulum swings away. Companies like Bose control the market if they own the line share, not really caring about the old farts that bran boast. 

@1971gto455ho 

You sure are cynical. 

While there are a few companies that attempt and get away with charging "excessive" prices for their products, they are far between. Certainly not in tiny markets in highly discretionary markets. If folks don’t think the speakers are worth it, then they don’t buy them. Also, folks buying speakers in the $30K - $100k range are smarter than the average population, not dumber. 

I would think it more likely that a marketing person(s) from Sonus Faber / Bose did a complete analysis of the SF product lines and of the competitions. Considered the sonic characteristics, craftsmanship, global demographics, production costs and forecasted costs, and probably the Bose guidelines for profitability. They would have got together the COO, CFO, VP of Sales... probably the entire executive staff. The marketing team would have spent several hours explaining their findings and recommendations. The VP of Sales would complain endlessly about how they would not longer be able to sell the volumes they had committed to in the annual plan with these price increases. Everyone would look to purchasing to get long term contracts on raw materials to stabilize the material input costs. Anyway, I can go on and on. This is how it works. A huge amount of research and heated discussion by very savvy people trying to make sure they stay in business and make some money. 

Price gouging only works with commodities that are mandatory. Health care, food, water, power.