Roomba Maker iRobot Is Picking Up Its Largest Distributor in Europe
iRobot, the company behind the popular Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, is plunking down $141 million in cash to buy Robopolis, its largest distributor in Europe.
Robopolis, based in Lyon, France, has sold iRobot products exclusively since 2006, covering Western Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
In a statement, iRobot CEO Colin Angle said the company is pursuing a “more direct” sales strategy to drive adoption of robots in the home.
Last year, the Bedford, Mass. company cut a similar deal in Japan, buying Sales On Demand, its exclusive distributor there since 2004.
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More recently, Angle raised eyebrows earlier this week when he told Reuters that iRobot might sell “mapping” data of customers’ houses gathered by Roomba to other companies selling smart connected home products.
Such companies could include , , and --all of which are pitching connected home devices.
Related: Alexa Has Conquered Your Home. Is Your Phone Next?
Last year, iRobot made its Roomba vacuum compatible with the , Alexa voice assistant. Now it could do similar deals with Google Home, as well as the upcoming Apple HomePod and Microsoft Invoke connected home devices going forward.
Presumably, if those companies know more about the layout of your house, they could suggest products and services for you. Depending on how you feel about technology in your home, that could be good news--or just creepy.
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