Sharper Image to close remaining 86 stores

Gadget retailer The Sharper Image plans to close all of its remaining stores, its new owners announced Sunday.

The company expects to sell $50 million in inventory as it shutters 86 stores across the United States, joint owners The Hilco Organization and Gordon Brothers Group said in a statement.

The group, which purchased the gadget retailer's assets in a bankruptcy auction Thursday for $49 million, said it has developed a licensing strategy for wholesale, retail, direct-to-retail, e-commerce, and catalog businesses.

The Sharper Image filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, with plans to shut about half of its 184 stores and reorganize. The San Francisco-based company said it had lost more than $135 million since early 2005. The company put itself up for sale in April.

[neolink70]

NOOO!! Now what will I do when I go to the mall and there will be no free massage chairs to ease the stresses of life?!?! T.T good times though.. can't forget those scooters...

[eBob1]

I'm wondering if there will be a huge discount on those chairs now. It might be nice to have one for the den.

[sellitman]

I'll miss shopping there for sure.

[Vik Hathi]

waayy overpriced products, its amazing they didnt close down sooner.

[peiper1]

Vic is right. Overpriced for sure and I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.
How many could actually afford them. But their products were sure fun to see.

I guess over time and in the long run, the Customer wasn't ripe enuff.

[REdDogOne]

Wow, how sad. I have always loved Sharper Image and bought from them on a regualr basis over the years. They will be missed during the weekly trek to the mall.

JJ

[ReVeLaTeD]

Overpriced....absolutely. And for subpar merchandise more often than not. $500 for an air purifier? Yeah, we'll see how far that goes.

Sharper Image basically played on its own name: image. The image of some super-tech store must automatically mean you're getting the best there is to offer; customers soon found that not to be the case as a lot of their merchandise underperformed when compared to significantly cheaper products readily available from Amazon.com.

Nice image, Sharper Image, but you know good well you were a ripoff and deserve to be shut down.

On that note - BRING BACK Incredible Universe!!

[sigpiguy81]

actually the $500 dollar air purifier was the best selling air purifier and actually still is.
And for as much as you think that their products were over-priced, they managed to actually have great customer service and product knowledge.

[eswong]

As one who has been indiscriminately inundated by Sharper Image catalogs, I can guess one reason why they lost money. Like the other comments, I can't figure out how (or why) they lasted so long...

[cjwalker]

I always enjoyed *browsing* at Sharper Image, but the majority of their products were either useless or way too expensive for what little value they offered. The target demographic seemed to be young dot-com geeks who thought they'd struck it rich back in 1999. Since the dot-com crash, Sharper Image's business has been on the decline.

I'm sad to see them go, but only a little. I don't think I ever bought a single thing there, even though I went into that store on almost every trip to the mall.

Is Brookstone next?

[sigpiguy81]

Actually Sharper Image's best years were post-1999. Their business plan actually has been cited as one of the best for several years in mid-level retail.
The reason they stayed in business for so long is the fact that they offered the things in life you "wanted," not "needed." Their market was for the middle-to-upper middle-class. You say over-priced but yet how did this company last over 30 years in this business? Good customer service, product knowledge, and innovative products. I guess those who are glad to see this company can shop at big-box stores and wait 20 minutes for a clerk who could't tell you a lick about the product they are selling you.

[amandaocampo]

thats why they're closing down. because you sat in the "free" massage chair for hours occupying them and preventing real customers from purchasing them. i used to work there and that happened to me on more than one occasion.

[jyyau]

Old business model simply cannot survive in today's business environment. Sharper Image closes. Wal-Mart grows.

[austinchu]

I work for a company that manages and tracks gift cards, and I've been following this issue for sometime now on savvywallet.com. Leveragecard.com initialized a bankruptcy policy for consumers that purchased The Sharper Image gift card on our website. You can email me at [e-mail] and I can check our records to see if your card was purchased through us. If it is, then you're in luck and you can swap it with any of our other retailers.

[theteller1]

Be carefull when buying now that they are closing. the stores are a mess, they had the wrong price in a product and when I bought it they charge me the price they had in the register, not the one that was on the shelf. I spent 30 minutes arguing with an employe (a very unpolite one) who was trying to convince me that it was my fault and that the right price was "somewhere in the store" and that he doesn't has the time to look for it.

also check your bags VERY WELL they put in my bag something that wasn't mine, when I got home I realize I have it, I went back to the store to return it and they were closing, againg I had to fight with them to accept the product back (it wasn't a return, I DIDN'T PAY FOR IT, I was trying to do the right thing) finally I return it. My guess is that the product that they put by mistake in my bag actually belong to someone else, and that person got home and didn't find it in their bags and they can't complain because there are no returns, exchanges, etc... and no customer service...

[jroack]

This is really tragic. Sharper Image was once the greatest gizmo and gadget store, although most of their gizmos and gadgets were not entirely practical.

[benjaminstraight]

The store was only good for a free back massage. Everything was completely over priced.

[carsnob]

I disagree with you guys. I remember in the 70's in San Francisco, this was one of the coolest stores to ever come along. They did their research an offered products that for the most part were way ahead of the curve and top of the line. They carried this tradition for 30+ yrs. You get what you pay for. I'll miss them...

[DMT23703]

As a former employee of eight years, I am sorry to see this store come to an end. I left Sharper Image almost 12 years ago but still enjoyed shopping the stores. Richard Thalheimer was a good man to work for, but I was afraid his ego was getting too big. He wanted our products to reflect "The Sharper Image" name, instead of the quality, name-brand merchandise we had carried in the past. All of our knock-off merchandise was from China, and the quality reflected that. We took pride in our product knowledge, and were required to study new products and pass a test when they were brought to the sales floor. During the Christmas season when I worked in San Antonio and then in Dallas, we had to hire security to restrict the number of customers in the store at one time to avoid breaking fire regulations. It was nice being thought of as a tourist destination, but frustrating for sales associates who were on commission. We had to weed through all the country-bumkins and look for the shoppers who were serious and qualified to make a purchase. Yes, it was tiring having to talk to the parade of people who simply came in for a free ride in the massage recliner. Unfortunately, the days of personal, knowledgeable service are gone, replaced by the big box stores where we are just a shadow on their security cameras while we wait 20 minutes to pay for our purchase. Just another indicator of the decline in the quality of life in this country.

[JoieBonds]

Soo, now where will you buy these "overpriced" products? As an investor, I'd like to know where these buyers are going!!!