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Much of the success of Richard Thalheimer and The Sharper Image – the $750M, 200 store retail giant he founded in 1977 and led as CEO until 2006 – can be traced to Richard’s unprecedented ability to predict what people wanted, more often than not, before they knew it themselves. This intuitive knack to drive market trends combined with his lawyer’s precision, a healthy dose of entrepreneurial drive and an eternally playful outlook, converge to give Richard Thalheimer his title in the press, “America’s Gadget Guy.”
From his boyhood playing in the toy department of his father’s Little Rock department store, through his Yale study of Psychology and Sociology and his first successful entrepreneurial venture (selling enough encyclopedias in his first year in college to buy himself a Porsche) it “was clear Richard would find a way to put his deep understanding of people to work. It was also obvious any business venture he put his mind to would be unique, life enhancing and on an impressive global scale.
Richard’s business success story was kick-started by a $69 Realtime watch for joggers which he discovered at a 1977 Las Vegas trade show. Impressed to find a genuine chronograph that was waterproof and shock resistant but still affordable, Richard determined to acquire its exclusive US distribution. This watch would become the first major consumer hit of his company The Sharper Image. With a stroke of marketing genius, Richard convinced his friend, legendary ultra-marathoner Walter Stack to appear wearing his watch in a full page Runner’s World ad. The copy crowed, “The only chronograph that keeps up with the amazing Walt Stack.” As the watch orders poured in, Richard was already one step ahead; using his legendary ability to spot the products that would connect with the child in every adult man and woman for his first mail-order catalog. He described his mission in life as “Picking out these fun toys for grown ups."
And it was not only the products that were ground-breaking. Richard Thalheimer and The Sharper Image team created many retail innovations that are still industry defining today. The company boasted San Francisco’s most advanced photo studio and developed an admired design and copy style. The Sharper Image’s sophisticated approach to design was noted by Steve Jobs at Apple and emulated by other product design and retail innovators.
From the early days, Richard was obsessed with “no questions asked” customer service. The company proudly refunded one customer for a watch he dropped off the side of a ship and another for some sunglasses he sat on. As Richard put it, “Good customer service and prompt refunds enabled us to continue to grow and to have another chance.”
In its quest for every more unique and innovative product the company set up a top secret Sharper Image Design Lab in Novato, CA. Chuck Taylor, one of the lab’s inventors described it as the place “where the inner child could come out in every man, with gizmos blinking and whirling. The only thing missing were white coats and propeller hats.”
Sharper Image Design developed over one hundred products for The Sharper Image catalog and stores including the famous fogless shower mirror, the “Sound Soother” white noise machine and a highly popular battery powered nostril hair trimmer. Over 300 patents were filed.
Richard’s business success story was kick-started by a $69 Realtime watch for joggers which he discovered at a 1977 Las Vegas trade show. Impressed to find a genuine chronograph that was waterproof and shock resistant but still affordable, Richard determined to acquire its exclusive US distribution. This watch would become the first major consumer hit of his company The Sharper Image. With a stroke of marketing genius, Richard convinced his friend, legendary ultra-marathoner Walter Stack to appear wearing his watch in a full page Runner’s World ad. The copy crowed, “The only chronograph that keeps up with the amazing Walt Stack.” As the watch orders poured in, Richard was already one step ahead; using his legendary ability to spot the products that would connect with the child in every adult man and woman for his first mail-order catalog. He described his mission in life as “Picking out these fun toys for grown ups.”
And it was not only the products that were ground-breaking. Richard Thalheimer and The Sharper Image team created many retail innovations that are still industry defining today. The company boasted San Francisco’s most advanced photo studio and developed an admired design and copy style. The Sharper Image’s sophisticated approach to design was noted by Steve Jobs at Apple and emulated by other product design and retail innovators.
From the early days, Richard was obsessed with “no questions asked” customer service. The company proudly refunded one customer for a watch he dropped off the side of a ship and another for some sunglasses he sat on. As Richard put it, “Good customer service and prompt refunds enabled us to continue to grow and to have another chance.”
In its quest for every more unique and innovative product the company set up a top secret Sharper Image Design Lab in Novato, CA. Chuck Taylor, one of the lab’s inventors described it as the place “where the inner child could come out in every man, with gizmos blinking and whirling. The only thing missing were white coats and propeller hats.”
Sharper Image Design developed over one hundred products for The Sharper Image catalog and stores including the famous fogless shower mirror, the “Sound Soother” white noise machine and a highly popular battery powered nostril hair trimmer. Over 300 patents were filed.
Transitioning from a career as an embezzlement investigator into Richard’s right hand man, Joe Williams recalls the exhilarating experience of witnessing Richard’s inspiring, innovative spirit and great talent at work, both in the office and in his personal life.
Learn about Richard’s gift of understanding human behavior and how he applied it, both in management of employees and sales strategies.
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