Ionic Breeze Home

The Sharper Image Corporation NASDAQ: SHRP, founded by Richard Thalheimer, is a speciality retailer that operates throughout the United States. The Sharper Image has been in business since 1977 and publicly traded since 1987. more...

Home
Amplifiers
Audio Accessories & Cables
Cable TV
DVD Players & Recorders
Digital Video Recorders, PVR
Gadgets & Other Electronics
Air Purifiers
Other Brands
Ozone
Sharper Image Ionic Breeze
Ionic Breeze Car
Ionic Breeze Home
Batteries & Chargers
Breathalyzers
Calculators
Clocks
Dictionaries & Translators
eBooks
Flashlight Key Chains
Fresnel Lenses
Home Automation
Language Filters
Laser Pointers
Laserdisc Players
Metal Detectors
Other Gadgets
Polygraphs
Radiation Detectors
RF Locators
Surveillance
Therapeutic Devices
Timers
Voltage Converters
Weather Devices
WebTV
Home Audio
Home Theater Projectors
Home Theater in a Box
Radios: CB, Ham & Shortwave
Satellite Radio
Satellite TV
Telephones & Pagers
Televisions
VCRs
Vintage Electronics

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA and employs 2500 people nationwide.

History

Based in San Francisco, The Sharper Image Corporation is the brainchild of Richard Thalheimer. The company got its start when Thalheimer visited a consumer product show in Las Vegas, and saw a product from Taiwan that caught his eye. Thalheimer realized that a watch that was oriented towards runners had a huge market. The only other watch that had the same features was a more expensive brand name product. Richard could import his watch for close to $75 and sell it for $175. He started his advertising in running magazines, and within 2 years he had made his first million. This profit inspired him to start The Sharper Image.

Retail Stores

The company has 190 locations nationwide, even though it started as a catalog only operation. The stores represent close to 50% of the total company revenue. In the last few years more and more retail revenue share has been taken over by internet shoppers and Sharper Image's Ebay operation.

The retail stores have obviously been the biggest way for the company to grow over the last 25 years. The enormous profits that were procured during the 2000-2003 years were instrumental in broadening The Sharper Image's name. As with most non-franchise chains, the stores mainly look the same. Over the years there have been different store models that the visual department rolls out. The company is currently trying to phase-out the "grey" store and replace it with "white" stores, mainly named as such because of the extensive use of white with black contrasting.

The stores contain separate "walls" that include "Home" and "Best Of TV". Besides the wall displays, the stores are made up of stand-alone fixtures that can have locking glass displays, bottom stocks, or shelving and can be easily converted to the manager's needs.

Sales

The Sharper Image is famous for its monthly sales. Every month, at least one product is sold as a "PWP". This PWP sale means that customers can buy select products at 50% off, as long as they purchase another item.

There are certain offers that have been around since the items they involve have been launched. The entire Ionic Breeze line has had a buy one, get the second one half off deal since the product was introduced about six or seven years ago. This deal is sure to go on until the products are phased-out. The company also has a reputation of introducing its air purifiers at an "introductory" price which is normally about $50 less than the final price. This intro price is effective for about 3-6 months depending on sales, and then the price is raised to its final point.

Read more at Wikipedia.org