Sharper Image Files for Chapter 11

I got taken on two of their air cleaners...

By CAROL MCCLEARY
February 20, 2008 10:04 a.m.

Specialty retailer Sharper Image Corp. filed for Chapter 11 protection late Tuesday with plans to quickly shutter 90 of its underperforming stores.

The bankruptcy petition, filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., lists total assets of $251.5 million and total debts of $199 million, as of Jan. 31.

The San Francisco-based retailer blamed its liquidity crisis on a host of factors, including increased competition and deteriorating gross margins, tightening credit from vendors and suppliers, and the negative impact of pending litigation over its air-purification products. The air purifiers were once one of Sharper Image's highest margin products.

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