Sharper Image has been the king of gadgets for the last several years. Throwing Brookstone aside and jumping into every mall imaginable, Sharper Image quickly went from the place that had the ionizer to the king of gadget mountain. Over the last few years though, Sharper Image has been rapidly sliding down the success ladder. Why?

Branding Genius, Al Reis, suggests that it has to do with the use of innovation as a business strategy. If only Sharper Image had been innovative. Let’s face it, the ionizer was something Sharper Image took from obscurity to nationwide fame. They did the same with the Razor scooter. But what have they done since then?

It’s not like Shaper Image had a built in reuse model. And they don’t exactly have innovative products. Robosapien? Who doesn’t have Robosapien? R2D2? Half of the businesses out there have the R2D2 robot, and to be quite honest with you… it is a rather dysfunctional toy. iPod Accessories? Where do you find anything innovative in Sharper Image? Why not just go to Best Buy?

Sharper Image didn’t lose because they played the innovation game. They lost because they played the me too game. There was nothing that differentiated them from the competition. In short, Sharper Image lost the “Sharper”.