News Releases
Brookstone to Host Conference Call
MERRIMACK, N.H., April 19, 2006 -- Brookstone, Inc. announced today that it will host a call with its bondholders at 2:30 p.m., April 19, 2006 EDT to introduce its new CEO, Lou Mancini. The Company invites all interested parties to access the Webcast at http://www.ir.Brookstone.com.
The Company is also announcing that it will host a call with its bondholders on Monday, April 24, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. EDT to discuss its first quarter results. The Company invites all interested parties to access the Webcast at http://www.ir.Brookstone.com.
The following letter was provided to the Company's bondholders of record on April 19, 2006.
Dear Bondholder:
As you may know already, Lou Mancini has joined Brookstone as CEO.
We believe that Lou will be a valuable addition to the Brookstone management team, and will provide strong leadership as the new ownership group led by OSIM International continues to make important changes to the company's productivity, particularly at the retail store level.
We remain committed to Brookstone's long-term success. This is a great company with strong brands; our goal is to take it to the next level. We believe that the infrastructure needed to do that is already in place. We also have the benefit of OSIM's products and product development expertise. Going forward, we believe that the primary need, as well as opportunity, is to increase productivity in the retail stores. That will be Lou's mandate.
Lou is a seasoned CEO with over 25 years of experience in managing specialty retailing companies, including the most dynamic growth phase of General Nutrition Centers, one of the most successful specialty retailers of the 1990s. Lou started as a store manager at GNC and worked his way up to CEO after serving in a wide range of retail, field and senior management positions. Most recently, he was CEO of Murray's Auto Discount Stores, where he made a dramatic impact on the company's operations and financial performance. In a little more than a year as CEO, he successfully addressed competitive and operating issues including store profitability. In doing so, he also worked closely with JW Childs, Murray's majority owner, prior to a sale of the company to a publicly listed strategic buyer.
We believe that Brookstone has a lot more earnings potential, and the ownership group will work closely with the management team to realize that potential. We have taken, and are taking, actions to address the underlying issues blocking that potential in the short term. This change in CEO leadership, and the choice of Lou Mancini to lead the management team forward, reflects that commitment.
We went into this transaction with confidence that Brookstone can improve the selling process, particularly in the retail channel. That confidence has not changed. Brookstone's great products have been the core of its success for years, and we will continue to invest in the development of key products. But we will also continue to take the actions needed to increase sales at the store level, with the goal of quarterly profitability.
Please join us on a conference call today at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Thank you.
Ron Sim Chairman
Brookstone, Inc. is a product development and specialty retail Company that operates 304 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 one store under the Gardeners Eden Brand, and a Direct Marketing business that includes the Brookstone and Hard-to-Find Tools catalogs and an e-commerce website at http://www.brookstone.com.
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 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Words such as "estimate", "project", "plan", "believe", "feel", "anticipate", "assume", "may", "will", "should" and similar words and phrases may identify forward-looking statements. Statements about a possible sale or divestiture of its Gardeners Eden business constitute forward-looking statements. The Company may not be able to complete a divestiture on acceptable terms because of a number of factors, including failure to reach agreement with a purchaser. 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.
CONTACT: Brookstone, Inc.
Philip Roizin
EVP of Finance and Administration
(603) 880-9500