This year, Sharper Image declared bankruptcy. Why? Founder Richard Thalheimer said it this way:"One of the biggest challenges that Sharper Image faced in the past 5 years was that the Apple store took over as the place to hang out in the mall. We [Sharper Image] were lulled into a period of complacency because of the success of the Ionic Breeze."
- Page 23 from the July 2008 Issue of Inc. Magazine.
The Sharper Image went from being a unique gadget store to a seller of massage chairs and the Ionic Breeze - an air purifier. Yet another example of what not to do when success comes. In this case, they got fat and happy on the success of a couple of products and lost their edge.
As we discussed in an earlier example from George Lucas: Big successes breed laziness. If you ride the success wave for too long, you'll soon find yourself (and possibly even your company) so out of shape that you're pretty far away from being able hit another home run. Or in this case, actually calling it quits and closing up shop.
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