Say it isn't so: A world without Sharper Image, seller of a gaggle of gadgetry, offerer of the iconic Ionic Breeze air purifiers, enticer of overgrown boys seeking overpriced toys.
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Sharper Image is bankrupt. From whence will our Razor Scooters come?
After years of trying to survive in an unstable climate, the retailer has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It will continue to operate at least some of its 184 stores (two in Oklahoma). But probably not for long.
Entering a Sharper Image store is like visiting a museum of modern technology. The sleek displays of wizardry, magic wands wielded by micro-chips, attract plenty of tire kickers but too few buyers. Too many products once unique to Sharper Image started being sold elsewhere — Radio Shack, Target, Lowe's. More importantly, they were sold online for less money. Amazon.com became a rain forest; Sharper Image dried up to little more than a copse on the mall beat.
Stock market analyst Rick Munarriz says he never went into a Sharper Image store "where I saw anyone but foreign tourists heading to the register. For locals, it's a free museum.”
The retailer had net losses for three consecutive years. With debt mounting, its executives took a Razor Scooter to bankruptcy court this week. Another retailer, Lillian Vernon, did likewise. Others are sure to follow because consumers are holding tight to their cash these days.
Strapped retailers close stores, increasing vacancies at shopping malls, increasing unemployment and souring the mood of consumers even further. Sharper Image was a place you could go for comfort. Even if you weren't buying, it was good to know what was available should that windfall come.
One will come this spring in the form of the federal tax rebates. Too late to help hone the dulling edge of Sharper Image?
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Their business model was trashed by the Online Boom 8 years ago. Give'em credit for hanging on longer than most, but in now way can this be credited to present day economy woes.
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