NEW YORK–The sale of The Sharper Image to a joint venture is expected to close either today or tomorrow.
The group, consisting of Hilco Consumer Capital, Gordon Brothers Brands and Bluestar Alliance, will pay $49 million for the struggling retailer, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since February. According to Jack Erdos, chief financial officer of Bluestar, and Brad Snyder, principal and managing director of Gordon Brothers, the three companies are in discussions regarding its strategies for expanding the Sharper Image brand.
Liquidations have begun on the remaining 86 Sharper Image stores, and one of the topics being discussed by the new owners-to-be is whether Sharper Image will be a retailer of some kind. “We could have some retail presence, either brick-and-mortar or online,” Erdos said, “but we have to decide that.”
Erdos added that the new owners “want to make it an international brand,” noting that Sharper Image is already a well-known name in Europe and Japan. “We want to offer the products it’s already known for, plus we’ll look at expanding into other products that make sense.”
Snyder called Sharper Image “an iconic brand, and we want to focus on expanding it. We feel so strongly that it has potential for expansion into multiple channels. We will consider every possibility.”
According to a source close to the situation, Jerry Levin, former chairman of Sharper Image, in conjunction with an unnamed equity capital firm, put in a bid for the company that was “substantially lower” than the winning bid. Levin resigned as chairman in April to pursue an acquisition of the company.