News Releases
Brookstone Announces CEO and Chairman Succession
- Executive Vice President Philip W. Roizin to Serve as
Interim President and CEO
- Director Jackson Tai Appointed Chairman of the Board
MERRIMACK, N.H., February 24, 2008 - Brookstone, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a Succession Agreement with Louis Mancini, its President and CEO and a member of the company's Board of Directors. The Agreement will be effective March 4, 2009, and Mr. Mancini will be stepping down from his positions with the company on the same date. Mr. Mancini joined Brookstone in 2006 after a successful tenure as CEO of Murray's Discount Auto Stores, Inc.
Effective upon Mr. Mancini's departure, Philip W. Roizin will serve as interim President and CEO and as a director of the company. Mr. Roizin, 50, has served as Brookstone's Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration since December 1996. Prior to joining Brookstone, Mr. Roizin was the Chief Financial Officer of The Franklin Mint and previously held various senior positions with Dole Food Company, including Vice President/General Manager of Dole Beverages and Vice President of Strategic Services. Mr. Roizin also served as a consultant for Bain & Co.
Jackson Tai, 58, has been appointed as Chairman of the company's Board of Directors, succeeding Ron Sim who will remain as a director. Mr. Tai, who has been a director of the company since August 2008, was Vice Chairman and CEO of DBS Group Holdings until 2008. Prior to his eight years of service with DBS in Singapore, he served 25 years with J.P. Morgan & Co. as a managing director in the Investment Banking Division, holding management positions in New York, Tokyo and San Francisco. Mr. Tai is a director of MasterCard Incorporated and CapitaLand and serves as a member of the ING Groep NV Supervisory Board.
Mr. Sim, who served as Brookstone Chairman since the 2005 acquisition of the Company by OSIM International Ltd, JW Childs Associates, LP, and Temasek Holdings Limited, said he would devote himself to the challenges and opportunities in Asia. Mr. Sim is founder, Chairman and CEO of OSIM International.
William Watts, an Operating Partner of JW Childs Associates and a director of the Company since the 2005 acquisition, said, "Brookstone has been fortunate to have Lou's leadership over the last three years. He assumed leadership at a critical juncture and successfully implemented numerous operational initiatives that had an immediate impact on the Company and its bottom line. We thank Lou for his many contributions to Brookstone and wish him well in his future endeavors."
Mr. Sim stated, "The Board of Directors is looking forward to working with Philip in his new role. For more than twelve years, Philip has been intimately involved in virtually every aspect of the company's business and has been a key driver of the Company's development and growth. He will bring his wealth of experience to help the company meet the challenges presented by the current retail environment."
Mr. Sim added, "A search is underway for a permanent CEO, and Philip is a candidate for the position."
"Everyone at Brookstone is deeply committed to product excellence and the first-rate service our customers have come to expect from us," said Roizin. "While we are proud of our strong Brookstone brand, we recognize that present conditions do not permit us the luxury of resting on our past accomplishments. We must ensure that we are nimble and competitive in providing our customers with innovative products and quality service."
About Brookstone, Inc.
Brookstone, Inc. is an innovative product development and specialty lifestyle retail company that operates 310 Brookstone Brand stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Typically located in high-traffic regional shopping malls and airports, the stores feature unique and innovative consumer products. The Company also operates a Direct Marketing business that includes the Brookstone catalog and an e-commerce website at http://www.brookstone.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this release which are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's confidence or expectations, earnings, anticipated operations of its e-commerce sites and those of third-party service providers, and other statements about the Company's operational outlook are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("Reform Act") and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks of changing market conditions in the overall economy and the retail industry, consumer demand, the effectiveness of e-commerce technology and marketing efforts, availability of products, availability of adequate transportation of such products, and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's annual and other reports posted to the Company's website. Words such as "estimate", "project", "plan", "believe", "feel", "anticipate", "assume", "may", "will", "should" and similar words and phrases may identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. The Company undertakes no obligations to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.