iRobot’s Roomba was once the biggest name in robot vacuums. It is so popular that some people still use it as a synonym for an entire product category. So what happened to the company that was rescued from oblivion by the acquisition by Chinese manufacturer Picea, but then fell from its heights to such an extent that it was forced to file for bankruptcy?
expensive way
But Cohen believes the problems started long before the upcoming acquisition.
He said: “The Amazon deal was a big blow to the company, but there were some long-standing issues that led us to the position we find ourselves in. It’s important to highlight these issues without disrespecting the previous team.” “My predecessor had a vision and it was great (…) His vision for the connected home and machine vision technology was great, but we couldn’t accomplish it.
“When I joined the company in May 2024, it was clear to me and many of the people supporting this restructuring that we needed to change the way we do business,” Cohen said.
Cohen had inherited expensive fixed-price contracts and an “over-engineered” product. He explained that at the time, all tooling, design and purchasing was done in the United States, with only final production occurring overseas. Now a very expensive operation will have to be done.
A bold decision was made to eliminate and replace entire obsolete product lines, and under Cohen’s leadership the company developed more integrated (and cost-effective) relationships with its manufacturers. The manufacturer at the time was Picea Robotics, the company that now owns iRobot.
In previous models, the manufacturer was hired as a “driver”, essentially designing and simply assembling the product. The new approach allowed iRobot to determine the required specifications, but Piccia became more involved in “engineering, tooling, purchasing and testing”.
Although it was not enough to stop the sale to iRobot, it put the company on a more profitable path and allowed a closer working relationship with Picea.
Cost is high but satisfaction is low
High costs were only part of the problem. Cohen added, “We couldn’t compete in the marketplace.” “The price of the product was too high. The product was difficult to manufacture and, most importantly, it did not satisfy consumers.”
Had he joined the company earlier, Cohen said, he would have put customers’ needs first. He said, “At a time when iRobot was facing competitive challenges, I would take competition more seriously and create a consumer model.”
“For example, consumers wanted a product that was a combination of a mop and a vacuum cleaner. The iRobot team at the time said, ‘No, we’re going to make a better mop and a better vacuum cleaner.’ And it was technically great, but consumers didn’t like it. So (iRobot) missed the market opportunity because it wasn’t close enough to the consumer and didn’t listen to them.”
iRobot was also late in developing feature-rich platforms. The multifunctional docking station allows you to empty the robot’s small dustbin as well as fill the water tank, rinse and dry the mop head. The company released its first effort, the Roomba Combo 10 Max, in 2024, but as Cohen admits, “It wasn’t the best or most competitive product.”
“So we are losing market share in Europe because we were not involved (at the time). This is all a strategic decision that was taken many years ago.”
tariff confusion
Of course, external factors also played a role. Cohen plans to sell iRobot in the first half of 2025, but major changes in US tariff policy have created more uncertainty for potential buyers.
Cohen recalls, “A lot of companies were interested in us because of the tariffs and they said, ‘Well, there’s a lot of uncertainty.’ “We can’t buy companies right now,” which limited our options. “Eventually we found a company that was seriously interested in acquiring us, but we were unable to reach an agreement with Carlyle, our main lender at the time, and the deal fell apart in October.”
Cohen had to act quickly to save the company. “Chapter Seven” (Liquidation and Bankruptcy) “It wasn’t what I really wanted,” he told me. “We were so interested in the company and its people that we went to Piscia and asked them if they were interested in acquiring the company, and they were interested.”
So, what does the future hold for Pica? As for the immediate impact, Cohen said it is “business as usual”, with previously developed products already available to European retailers and the company working to launch them in spring 2026.
In the long term, he believes a new approach that puts consumers first and makes robot vacuum cleaners accessible to more people will make a difference. We will watch with interest.
