Since Amazon abandoned its $1.4 billion acquisition, the operation of iRobot, an American robot vacuum cleaner manufacturer, has been in trouble.
Due to the rise of Chinese companies and fierce competition, iRobot’s performance has continued to be sluggish. On March 12, the company said that it had become difficult to continue its business. “There are major doubts about whether it can maintain the premise of continued operation for at least 12 months.”
Affected by this, iRobot’s stock price in the US stock market that day once plummeted by more than 40% from the previous day’s closing price, and finally closed down 36%. This is iRobot’s largest single-day drop since it went public in 2005.
According to the financial report, iRobot’s sales in the fourth quarter of last year decreased by 44% year-on-year to $172 million, and the final loss was $77.1 million. By region, iRobot’s sales decreased by 47% in the United States, 34% in Japan, and 44% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
iRobot was once famous for the “Roomba” vacuum cleaner robot launched in 2002, which also promoted the popularity of household vacuum cleaner robots. However, under the strong offensive of Chinese companies, iRobot’s market share has declined and its performance has gradually deteriorated.
According to the statistical report on global smart sweeping robot shipments released by IDC in the second quarter of last year, among the top ten companies in terms of shipments, 9 were Chinese companies or Chinese-controlled companies. iRobot’s shipments fell 6% year-on-year, ranking second.
Amazon plans to acquire iRobot for about $1.7 billion in all cash in 2022, intending to expand the stability of its smart home devices. However, the acquisition has been subject to antitrust review by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the European Union, etc.
On January 29, 2024, local time, Amazon abandoned its $1.4 billion acquisition of iRobot because EU regulators had previously threatened to block the deal and Amazon could not bridge the differences.
iRobot said at the time that CEO Colin Angle had resigned and a restructuring plan launched by the company would lead to layoffs of about 350 people, accounting for 31% of the total number of employees. Amazon will pay iRobot $94 million for terminating the transaction.
iRobot is still saving itself. This week, iRobot launched eight new “Roomba” vacuum cleaners, the largest product launch in the company’s 30-year history. But it also pointed out in its earnings report that the success of new products cannot be guaranteed due to factors such as consumer demand, the competitive environment, macroeconomic conditions and tariff policies.
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