The robot vacuum cleaner pioneer iRobot is struggling with declining sales in the face of increasing competition.
Last year, sales fell by around a quarter to $890.6 million, iRobot said after the US stock exchange closed on Monday. The US home market experienced a particularly strong 30% decline.
All in all, iRobot closed the year with a loss of $304.7 million. The company was already in the red in 2022 by around $286 million. iRobot is also expecting a loss for the current year.
IRobot wanted to be bought by Amazon in order to better compete against its rivals, some them cheaper.
However, the deal agreed in August 2022 fell through in January due to opposition from European competition authorities. The European Commission saw a risk that Amazon could hinder iRobot's competitors on its trading platform.
Following the collapse of the takeover, iRobot announced the loss of 350 jobs - 31% of its workforce. The long-standing boss Colin Angle retired.