iRobot’s chief executive has defended the takeover of the US company by a Chinese competitor, warning that its previous leadership had been “in denial” about deep problems at the Roomba vacuum maker.
Gary Cohen, who took charge of the company in May last year after a $1.5bn deal with Amazon collapsed amid antitrust concerns, told the Financial Times that the company had failed to innovate and deliver a straightforward user experience at a time when it was being drastically undercut by Chinese rivals.
Cohen pushed back against comments made by the company’s founder and former chief executive Colin Angle on Tuesday accusing regulators of halting iRobot’s “path to scale” by scrutinising its pact with Amazon.