Sharper Image Belly up?
 

I noticed a Sharper Image was closed in the Mall that we go to about 2 times a year.

Then when we were walking around here in Phoenix in an outdoor downtown area there was another one closed down.

I just looked online and it appears it has goes bankrupt.

I had a camera warranty on my Casio with them, its a 3 year policy about 4 months old I'll have to dig it out and see if it will still be honored.

More importantly, yet another corporation that I considered an institution along the lines of Starbucks, Hooters, etc... is closed down.

I try not to over react to these things but I have to wonder if there is a bigger picture here or is it just a fatality to Americans changing their spending habits and nothing more.

Anything you find at Sharper Image can be had much cheaper somewhere else or on-line. But, Sharper Image is only closing 86 stores. Not sure how many they have, though.

+1

Sharper Image was cool when they actually had unique items. Now days you can that stuff in many place, including the internet. Their market it gone.

Agreed, except their no questions asked insurance was awesome. After killing 2 digi cameras from abuse I purchased one from them with the insurance.

I ruined it just like the 2 before. Except I got a newer model for less money for free and with the money left over got another 3 year insurance policy and a nickel change. Not bad, but I would imagine this is not good business in the long run.

Also some folks like instant gratification, walking into a store touching and using the product before buying then buying it on the spot because you liked it so much and did not want to wait to buy online and have it shipped.

Sharp Image did go belly up. They filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

All of their remaining assets, including the "Sharper Image" name, were sold for something like $40 million in the bankruptcy to some investment group.

They will now use the name only for a marketing company (or something like that, I don't recall the details). But all of their stores/catalog/retail sales will be closed.

The Ionic Breeze is what lead to their demise. It was tested, unfavorably, by Consumer Reports in the early 2000s, and it killed them.

Hate to deal ya another blow but Mervyns has declared BK as well.

Reincarnation:

http://richardsolo.com/

My online Sharper Image:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/

Yep. The Ionic Breeze was their cash cow, that paid the O&P.

When CR flunked it, that was the beginning of the end.

There was also a lawsuit.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/02/sharper_image.html

The cynic in me imagines the top dogs still managed to get out with phat golden parachutes.

Never heard of it.

Furniture store, housewares...

Most of those warranties are provided/covered by a third party like WaCA, (Warranty Assurance Co America), sometimes known as Assuarant and affiliated with AGI.

I always hated Sharper Image- overpriced useless toys IMO. And Richard looks like a jerk.

Walked through many times but never found anything to buy there.

Always amusing to go look but I can't imagine anyone would buy anything. Expensive stuff to suit a need you never knew you had. Solar powered coffee cup/flashlight anyone?

It was a corporate gift store. No one spent thier own money there.

I confess I bought a pair of Bose headphones there. Oh, and a flask. That's it.

Used to be a good place to buy Maisto, etc. 1:18 metal car models...same pricing as everyone else, better selection.
They were on the road to destruction when they started to" invent" new high end gadgets to stock their store, rather than finding & reselling actual good articles, IMHO...:(