Lowe's To Sell Off Its 'Under-Performing' Iris Smart Home Automation Business

CIStud writes: Giant home improvement retailer Lowe's is giving up on the smart home market. The company announced its "difficult decision" to exit the home automation market and is seeking a buyer for its Iris Smart Home business as part of a “strategic reassessment.” The announcement is part of multiple other maneuvers by Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) that include closing its Orchard Supply Hardware business, dumping its Alacrity Renovation Service, shutting down all its locations in Mexico, and shutting more than 50 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Lowe's Iris was hailed as the only entry-level home automation system that handled ZigBee, Z-Wave and Wi-fi when it came out in 2012. Speaking to investors, president and CEO Marvin Ellison lumped Lowe's Iris in with other initiatives as an "underperforming... non-core business."