Sharper Image Reaffirms Ionic Breeze is Safe and Effective, Founder Ri

    Business Editors

    SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2005--Sharper Image Corporation (NASDAQ:SHRP) today reaffirmed to the consumer public, and reassured its customers, that the Company's Ionic Breeze Silent Air Purifiers, the most popular brand of room air cleaner in the U.S., are effective air cleaners and they are safe. The Company's statement unequivocally refutes the implications of Consumers Union's Consumer Reports magazine article ("New Concerns About Ionizing Air Cleaners," May 2005).
    "This Consumer Reports piece is, in my view, irresponsible in the way it casually and unscientifically speculates about public health and safety," said Richard Thalheimer, founder, chairman and chief executive officer. "The Ionic Breeze is safe. Like many common consumer electronics (televisions; hair dryers; copy machines), the Ionic Breeze and other electrostatic precipitator air cleaners produce trace levels of ozone as a by-product. There are government safety standards for such devices. The Ionic Breeze air cleaners meet the strictest standard, the 50 parts-per-billion concentration established for indoor medical devices. Over two million Ionic Breeze air cleaners have been purchased; its safe enjoyment by millions of consumers," said Mr. Thalheimer, "is impressive testimony to its safety and effectiveness as an air cleaner.
    "It is easy to confuse a category of products called 'ozone generators' with air cleaners," noted Mr. Thalheimer. "We agree with Consumers Union and the Environmental Protection Agency that such 'ozone generators' are unsafe for home use. Ionic Breeze is emphatically NOT an ozone generator. Ionic Breeze products meet the government's strict safety standards for ozone concentrations in homes; if those standards change, we will meet those as well.
    "I am at a loss to explain the motivations behind what I perceive as an unfair assault by Consumers Union, an organization we admired," said Mr. Thalheimer. "It is true that The Sharper Image contested Consumers Union's statements about the air-cleaning effectiveness of the Ionic Breeze in a recent lawsuit. While the judge ruled in favor of Consumers Union's First Amendment right of free speech, nonetheless we continue to emphatically disagree with Consumers Union's methods in evaluating the Ionic Breeze, both in testing and in reporting. There should be no question," said Mr. Thalheimer, "that the Ionic Breeze is a proven-effective air cleaner. It is also America's most popular air cleaner; it has the highest repurchase rate; and, in a national survey of over a thousand air-cleaner owners by a reputable independent organization, the Ionic Breeze brand rated highest in user satisfaction.
    "We stand firmly behind our own studies of Ionic Breeze's air-cleaning capabilities; we stand behind the tests of other research professionals and of independent laboratories. Because of these findings, Ionic Breeze air cleaners bear the Seal of Truth from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and, because of independent tests that confirmed our own, Ionic Breeze bears the Seal of Approval from the British Allergy Foundation (BAF) and their endorsement," said Mr. Thalheimer. "We approached these not-for-profit consumer and service organizations in good faith; we respect their judgment and their dedication to the public's quality-of-life issues.
    "The Sharper Image is renowned for superior customer service. We have completely liberal return privileges and any customer dissatisfaction is quickly addressed. I can assure the public," said Mr. Thalheimer, "that the level of satisfaction with Ionic Breeze room air cleaners is extraordinarily high -- with very few complaints or returns and with excellent word-of-mouth endorsement.
    "I am happy to assure our customers and consumers that the Ionic Breeze Silent Air Purifiers are safe and effective for their homes," concluded Mr. Thalheimer.

    The Sharper Image is a specialty retailer that is nationally and internationally renowned as a leading source of new, innovative, high-quality products that make life better and more enjoyable. A significant and growing proportion of sales are of proprietary products created by the Company's product development group, Sharper Image Design. The Company's principal selling channels include 180 Sharper Image specialty stores throughout the United States; the award-winning Sharper Image monthly catalog with annual circulation in excess of 90 million; and its primary Website, http://www.sharperimage.com. The Company also sells its products through its own online auction Website and an online Outlet store to help manage refurbished and close-out inventory; both sites are accessed from the home page of sharperimage.com. The Company also has business-to-business sales teams for marketing its exclusive and proprietary products for corporate incentive and reward programs and wholesale to selected U.S. and international retailers.

    This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current plans, expectations, estimates, and projections about the specialty retail industry and management's beliefs about our future performance. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forwarding-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and which may cause our actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in any such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K under "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results" and include our ability to continue to find or develop and to offer attractive merchandise to our customers, changes in business and economic conditions, risks associated with the expansion of our retail store, catalog and Internet operations, and changes in the competitive environment in which we operate. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements. However, readers should carefully review the statements set forth in the reports, which we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any Current Reports on Form 8-K.

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CONTACT: The Sharper Image Robert Wallach, 415-989-6445 (Legal Counsel) Aimee Cooper, 415-445-6023

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS RETAIL SOURCE: The Sharper Image

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