Now that Sharper Image declared bankruptcy and plans to close down 90 out of its 180 stores, us (vibrating) armchair quarterbacks are all trying to figure out why the store shut down. The Washington Post explores, and says that the chain's downfall came because it remained the same—stainless steel tools that streamlined "your life by .002 percent"—while the rest of the world changed.
That, and this:
The company also made a bunch of strategic missteps. It relied too heavily on blockbuster products, like the Razor scooter. It sold a ton of Ionic Breeze air purifiers, which Consumer Reports panned so viciously in 2002 that a class action lawsuit was filed against Sharper Image for refunds. (A judge's rejection of a settlement to that lawsuit—she didn't like the $19 store coupon proposed for each Ionic owner—seemed to precipitate the Chapter 11 filing.)
So are we going to only be left with Brookstone, which is privately held by some Asian company that makes high-end massage chairs? Perhaps. None of us can really tell the difference between the two companies anyway. When's the last time we went there when we weren't trying to pass the time while our wives/girlfriends shopped? As the post says, "If you want to stoke your gadget lust, you head to Gizmodo or Engadget, two of roughly 74 million gadget blogs. Or you head to the Apple Store, or Circuit City." [Washington Post]
DISCUSSION
I think brand awareness is a big factor that contributed to the death of Sharper Image. People with the money to buy expensive trinkets want to buy expensive trinkets with high-end names emblazoned on them. They want F.A. Porsche toasters, Coach Bags, Polk Speakers, Apple Computers, BMW Cars, Louis Vuitton Luggage, All Clad cookware, etc. In malls across the country over the last decade or so those high-end stores have been popping up like weeds in the spots where the Gap and Wilson's Leather used to be. Since it's just as easy to go to the Cross store to buy a "real" pen, why would you spend the same money on a "sharper image" pen that's made from plastic and crammed with LEDs? Who needs a battery-powered spinning tie rack when you can go to Restoration Hardware and get a handsome Brass one that will match your house?
People want high-brand or one-of-a-kind stuff (or at least the illusions thereto) and Sharper Image just wasn't selling it. The charm and wow-factor of portable DVD players wore off when Best Buy started carrying them, and it's gone now that Wal-Mart has them, yet Sharper Image carries the same models they've always had, for the same prices while everyone else is eating their lunch.
About the only cool thing Sharper Image has going for it are the scale model cars. I love those and they have makes that are tough/impossible to find anywhere else. Otherwise they can all catch fire.