With the web-based side of Hammacher becoming such a productive aspect of the company - with online sales increasing at a rate of 30% each year - both the Chicago and Beverly Hills stores close their doors, leaving only the landmark store in New York City. It is out of this store that Hammacher offers two floors of household furnishings, personal items, electrical appliances, and the "first" of many products available to consumers.
On February 15, 2005, the Internet site, YouTube, goes online. The video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees, allows users to upload, view and share videos. Within a year, YouTube's popularity skyrockets, with over 65,000 new videos being uploaded every day from nearly 100 million viewers.
Available only from Hammacher Schlemmer, this fully animatronic remote-controlled version of Robby, the robot from the classic 1956 film Forbidden Planet stands seven feet tall. Robby is created from the same blueprints, molds, and templates used to create the original costume and made by renowned artist Fred Barton, the man commissioned to restore the original robot after its sale to a Southern California prop museum in 1970.
The cover of our holiday catalog featured The Voice Activated R2-D2, a motorized replica of the headstrong little "droid" from the iconic Star Wars films. This R2 unit recognizes more than 40 verbal commands and has a motion sensor that sounds an alarm when a secured area is invaded. R2's lights, swiveling dome top, and distinctive happy and sad sounds faithfully mimic the real thing.
