Nostalgic Retail Series #17 - SHARPER IMAGE

Founded in 1977 by Richard Thalheimer, the retailer started as a watch catalog business. 

Sharper Image expanded to close to 200 stores in 38 states at its peak. Litigation and turmoil with their Ionic Breeze air purifiers started the descent (and reputation) with the stock price reaching "penny stock" status in early 2008 and a subsequent delisting from NASDAQ.

In 2008, Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the closing of all stores ensued. 

"On May 29, 2008, a joint venture led by units of private investment firms Hilco Consumer Capital, Infinity Lifestyle Brands, Gordon Brothers Group, and Bluestar Alliance won a bankruptcy auction to acquire the assets of The Sharper Image, paying $49 million plus some contingent recovery for the company's assets. The Sharper Image name was then licensed and used to sell products through major third-party retailers and the branded website. New products were created through partnerships with other businesses." [Wikipedia]

In 2011, the brand was sold to Iconix Brand Group with Camelot Venture Group acquiring the rights, in full (was previously involved in the Iconix acquisition), in 2014.

Then in 2016, ThreeSixty Group (own FAO Schwartz) purchased the Sharper Image brand and revamped the "image" and product line. Today, the brand still exists online, and with licensed products, although it lost its initial niche of having technology-forward and innovative, hard to find products. 

I remember spending endless amounts of time playing in Sharper Image stores and thinking everything was so futuristic and cool.