iRobot’s future isn’t looking up

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

The robot vacuum maker is still stuck in debt.

iRobot, maker of the iconic Roomba robot vacuum, announced its second-quarter earnings late last week, and the numbers keep going down. Despite launching an entirely new product line, its revenue declined 23 percent to $127.6 million from the previous quarter, with the lucrative US and European markets being hit hardest.

The company has struggled in the face of increased competition from Chinese manufacturers and the collapse of a sale to Amazon, which left it deep in debt. Earlier this year, CEO Gary Cohen indicated iRobot could shut down within 12 months if something didn’t change. The clock is ticking.

Last week, Cohen said that while customer response to the new product line has been “encouraging,” iRobot didn’t meet its goals this quarter “due to persistent market headwinds and delays in scaling production and sales of our new products.” He confirmed the company is still looking at a potential sale or other “strategic alternatives” to get out of debt.

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