Evolving from a robotics company working in government contracts and toy contract work, iRobot eventually released a consumer product of their own, the Roomba, that would define not only their entire corporate future, but the industry that they essentially created. However, just 4 years after their all time peak in revenue and popularity, the company had declared bankruptcy. Join me in this video as we find out what happened to iRobot and their flagship product line, the Roomba robot vacuum.It seems no tale of the Retail Apocalypse is complete without either private equity or Amazon, and this story has both, although in potentially helpful roles, not competitors or bad managers. Also, this is another example of a company that florished during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were at home, then got into trouble when they returned to work, although that wasn't the primary issue; competition and weak innovation were.
As I've written before, no bankrupt company's story is complete without Company Man telling it, so here is Company Man Mike asking The Decline of iRobot (Roomba)...What Happened?
The company that popularized the robot vacuum has been struggling. This video outlines some of the main reasons behind those struggles.Company Man Mike made a list of the reasons for iRobot's decline.
As I wrote above, competition and weak innovation were the main reasons for iRobot's decline. Using cameras instead of LIDAR is, as Company Man Mike pointed out, one of the reasons why Tesla's self-driving technology is inferior to Waymo's. I hadn't even considered the privacy issues with cameras instead of LIDAR, but they're valid. As for relying on vacuum sales over other applications and markets, iRobot made the decision to sell their military products early on and it made sense at the time. As for other consumer products, it wasn't for lack of trying. iRobot tried, but failed.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more awards show coverage.
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