Sharper Image can't move enough air purifiers to avoid bankruptcy

We can't say the writing was exactly on the wall or anything, but when Sharper Image attempted to sell self-branded cellphones and got dinged for pushing grossly overpriced air purifiers that actually made things worse -- well, you could tell things weren't all peaches and cream. Regardless, the company made famous for selling trinkets and massage chairs in malls everywhere has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after "declining sales and three straight years of losses led to a shortage of liquidity." Comically enough, the retailer actually went so far as to "partly blame" the negative publicity surrounding the aforementioned Ionic Breeze air purifiers for its falling revenues, and court papers also show that it's currently seeking a $60 million loan to keep operating. Oh, how the mighty mediocre have fallen.

[Thanks, Steve]

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 16th 2008 2:52AM]

I have inside knowledge of the company and saw first hand how they developed and tested the ionic breeze products. This was nothing short of fraud. The testing was faked/altered to justify making broad claims of dust collection and germicidal benifits. Honest people succeed in business and those who are scam artists profit for a while but eventually go down - as in this case. Thalheimer was an egotistcal ahole in love with his own impractical ideas. He was the equivalent Larry Flint meets J. Peterman (Seinfeld) of the retail industry, i.e. put it in a glossy catalog, put a good spin on it and mindless consumers will buy one thinking the widget is acutally worth $39.95. The quality and reliability of anything that came out of Sharper Image Design was nothing short of junk as most everything was developed by Chinese manufacturers. Good ridance