Brookstone Incorporation operates as a specialty retailer and product development company primarily in the United States. The company offers approximately 3,000 stock keeping units, of which 625 are available through its retail store locations under home, office, audio and technology, travel, and health and fitness product categories, as well as hammocks, outdoor living, bed and bath, electronics, furniture, travel and auto, home care, kitchen and bar, and games arcade product categories. It offers its products under Brookstone brand. As of December 29, 2007, its distribution channel included 319 Brookstone stores, including 49 airport based stores and 4 outlet stores in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
In addition, the company operates approximately 65 to 80 Brookstone seasonal stores per year, which are typically open during the winter holiday season, as well as markets its products directly to customers through Brookstone catalog and the Internet at brookstone.com; and sales to corporate and wholesale customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Brookstone offers two different catalogs: an updated version of its original "Hard to Find Tools" collection, much of which is not available in the retail stores, as well as the "Brookstone Collection" catalog, which offers the merchandise found in its stores to customers out of range. Brookstone's catalogs generate 15 percent of the company's annual income; the remaining majority is derived from in store sales.
In the early 1970s, a small advertisement appeared in the classified section of Popular Mechanics magazine, offering subscribers the chance to purchase a catalog containing hard-to-find tools. The catalog was targeted at woodworkers, do it yourself hobbyists, and collectors, and it contained high quality items that were both functional and fun. The emergence of this catalog into the public domain marked Brookstone, Inc.'s foundation as a...