In a somewhat unsurprising turn of events for anyone who's been following the robot vacuum market, iRobot, the maker of the Roomba, has announced bankruptcy and was sucked up by its former main supplier, Picea Group. According to a Bloomberg report, Picea had already bought up iRobot's $190 million debt from Carlyle Group Inc, and now owns the marque.
The story leading up to the bankruptcy and buyout is a sad tale of a company losing its edge and then being repeatedly kicked when it was down. Roomba is a reference name in U.S. and European households, and iRobot held the lion's share of those markets for a good long while — 80 to 90% in the U.S. in the tail end of the past decade.
Probably in part because of this near-monopoly, iRobot apparently slowed down innovation and got complacent, content with the sales figures coming in. But trouble was brewing half a world away, as Chinese robotics companies were kickstarting their engines and revving into high gear.
iRobot lost ground swiftly: it saw its U.S. market share chopped to around 70% in 2021, which then crashed to 40% in 2022. It fared no better in the EMEA region, and even its once-significant slice of the Asian market quickly eroded. By contemporary estimates, the once prevalent Roomba now has just a quarter of the U.S. market, a third of Europe's, and less than 10 percent of Asia's.
Most of its market share loss was gained by Chinese competitors, including Roborock, EcoVacs, and Dreame. All of the newcomers arguably iterated their designs at a much quicker pace and undercut Roombas on price and features — forcing iRobot to do successive price cuts to stay competitive. It's possible that the company could have recovered, but then the situation went from bad to worse.
iRobot was looking to be bought out by Amazon in 2024, but the EU was set to block the deal out of fears of monopolization. Amazon reportedly wasn't set on making any concessions for EU approval, in an odd contrast to the usual modus operandi for U.S. big tech companies. iRobot seemed to be betting on the buyout because it went as far as to take on $190 million in debt around the same time frame.
As a result of the failed buyout, iRobot had to simultaneously present its Q4 2024 report, displaying a 44% YoY revenue decline, a cut of 31% of its workforce, and the resignation of its CEO. But this still wasn't the knockout punch. iRobot had previously shifted production from China to Vietnam to try to escape the U.S. tariffs on China, only for the Trump Administration to slap a 46% levy on Vietnam as well — this was likely the final blow.
It's a sad tale for a company that created an entire market and handily dominated it, but also be a lesson on how not to rest on one's laurels. The iRobot name will probably still live on, as the only competing brand that Picea owns is 3i. Much like Foxconn produces electronics for other companies, Picea manufactures housewares for a good dozen or so popular brands, including Philips, LG, Xiaomi, and Dyson.
