• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 13, 2008

Less than nine months after going belly up, Sharper Image is getting a shot at rebirth. Its new owners have signed a $540 million, five-year licensing agreement with HoMedics, which makes personal health, wellness and relaxation products.

While the current economic climate may not seem ideal for re-launching a brand many people associate with vibrating chairs and other high-end gadgets, Federico De Bellegarde, VP/licensing for Sharper Image, disagrees.

"We have 32 years of a really rich consumer history, and our customers loved our products," he says. "And while people are very cautious right now about how they're spending their discretionary income, our following embraces emerging technologies. As long as we introduce products that are truly innovative--not just some product we've rebranded--and price them right, consumers will respond."

The Sharper Image shut down its nearly 200 retail stores early this year, stung not just by consumers cutting back on spending and increasing competition, but also from the protracted legal woes surrounding its Ionic Breeze air purifiers. (Back in 2005, Consumer Reports said that the devices not only failed to clean air, but were potentially unhealthy as well.)

De Bellegarde says many consumers either won't know or remember the back-story to the company's bankruptcy, but will recall the brand name. Among the new offerings will be MP3 docking stations; products for the home environment, including air purifiers; and a category called Concierge, which will include things like motorized tie racks and yes, those iconic nose-hair trimmers.

Now owned by the Hilco Organization and Gordon Brothers Group, the company is formulating a marketing and advertising strategy for the new products, which will make their debut at the Consumer Electronics Show early next year in Las Vegas, and at the International Housewares Show in Chicago in March. Products will be distributed through such retailers as Bed Bath and Beyond and Macy's, as well as through catalogs, online, and home-shopping programs.

Based in Commerce Township, Mich., HoMedics was a supplier to Sharper Image for 15 years.