Retail News CRM

Tag: Brookstone

  • Brookstone files for bankruptcy for the second time

    Brookstone files for bankruptcy for the second time

    Quirky gadget retailer Brookstone has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection – again.

    But the company has a clear strategy for its survival: closing its 101 remaining mall-based stores in favour of focusing on expanding its airport retail concept – which now numbers 35 stores – selling goods online and wholesaling.

    Brookstone has secured US$30 million in bankruptcy financing from Wells Fargo and Gordon Brothers. It said the mall-based store business was no longer viable “following continued deterioration of traditional retail mall traffic”.

    But its airport, online and wholesale operations are “operating successfully and should prove attractive to a buyer with the financial resources and vision to carry our company into the future,” said CEO Piau Phang Foo in a statement.

    Brookstone was founded in 1965, selling “hard-to-find tools” through Popular Mechanics magazine as a direct-marketing business. It opened its first brick-and-mortar store in 1973.

    In 2014 it was placed in Chapter 11 before being rescued by China’s Sailing Capital and Sanpower Group for $174 million.

  • Brookstone formally enters Hangzhou

    Brookstone formally enters Hangzhou

    Brookstone will formally enter the Hangzhou market with its first store opened at the Hangzhou GDA Plaza, which is Brookstone’s flagship store in the city.

    Ma Qihua, president of Hangzhou GDA Plaza, said that the cooperation with Brookstone is based on the common value of the two parties. Brookstone is seeking transformation as it faces more threats from e-commerce; while GDA Plaza is also exploring ways to truly return to market value to gain acceptance of the market and its customers.

    Xin Kexia, chief executive officer of Brookstone, is quoted in local media as saying that Brookstone has experienced many mistakes and corrections and has now discovered a new path. Now the industry pays more and more attention to Brookstone. With the opening of Brookstone store in Hangzhou, they are looking forward to sharing their business model with their peers in the city.

    Brookstone opened its first store at Nanjing Aqua City on January 1, 2016. On April 18, 2017, the company announced the start of its full expansion. So far, it has launched nearly 20 stores in over ten cities.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Brookstone Opens First Overseas Stores in China

    Brookstone Opens First Overseas Stores in China

    First Step Includes One Walk-In Retail and Three Store-in-Store Location. The company’s strategy is “to bring premium American lifestyle products to shoppers in China while providing China-based makers access to American and international retail markets.” (Image: sargarch.com)

    • Brookstone’s new retail store is located in one of China’s largest retail shopping centers in Nanjing.
    • Brookstone, founded in Massachusetts in 1965, was acquired in 2014 by the China-based Sanpower Group.
    • Brookstone’s goal in China is to offer shoppers “Easy Surprises…premium, unique and innovative products.”

    Innovative product developer and specialty retailer Brookstone has taken its first step into the global arena with the opening of one walk-in retail and three store-in-store locations in China.

    The retail store is located in one of China’s largest retail shopping centers in Nanjing with the three store-in-stores in Funtalk Telecommunication’s stores in Beijing and Shanghai.

    Brookstone company strategy will generate more shipments of export cargo and import cargo in international trade.

    “We’re thrilled with how enthusiastically customers are embracing their first Brookstone China store experience,” said Brookstone CEO Tom Via. “They love being able to try out our massagers, wear the Cat Ear Headphones and see the drones in action.”

    Brookstone, founded in Massachusetts in 1965, was acquired in 2014 by the China-based Sanpower Group, a multi-national conglomerate, and “is fulfilling its corporate mission to bring premium American lifestyle products to shoppers in China while providing China-based makers access to American and international retail markets,” the company said in a statement.

    Known in the U.S. for its memory foam pillows, sleep sound machines, massagers and checkpoint-friendly luggage, the company’s goal in China is to offer shoppers “Easy Surprises…premium, unique and innovative products” and position it “as a destination for people to find surprising innovations that make life easier,” said Brookstone China CEO Xin Kexia.

    In time, Brookstone China “will adopt a sales model that features a hands-on interactive shopping experience with stores transitioning from being simply sales channels to platforms for hands-on and interactive experiences,” the company said.

    “Store associates will be not so much salespersons as friendly guides that let customers experience products on their own. Associates will show the customers how to operate the wildly successful Brookstone cat ear headphones, massagers, and sleep machines,” it said.

    According to the Sanpower Group, plans call for Brookstone to open independent shops in airports and high-speed railway stations, and continue to launch store-in-stores in its offline retail brands, including Hisap and Smart Funtalk Telecommunications, “so as to synergize with the business resources of the Group.”

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • First Brookstone store China opens

    First Brookstone store China opens

    US specialty retailer Brookstone has opened its first overseas store in one of the largest shopping centers in Nanjing, China.

    First-day sales far exceeded expectations for the new outlet, says CEO Tom Via. “We’re thrilled with how enthusiastically customers are embracing their first Brookstone China store experience.”

    Brookstone shops allow customers to try out products, and Via says visitors to the new outlet “love being able to try out our massagers, wear the Cat Ear headphones and see drones in action”.

    Founded in 1965, Brookstone offers innovative and lifestyle products designed for smart living. It has more than 300 mall and airport stores across the US, plus an online presence and a B2B/wholesale business. Two months after filing for bankruptcy in April 2014, the company was bought by Chinese investment firm Sailing Capital and Chinese conglomerate Sanpower for more than $173 million. By July, the company had emerged from bankruptcy with a restructured balance sheet, improved capital structure and a new strategic partner with a corporate mission to introduce premium American lifestyle products to shoppers in China.

    Over the years, Brookstone has built a following for its memory-foam pillows, sleep-sound machines, massagers and checkpoint-friendly luggage.

    Brookstone China chairman Xin Kexia is using the slogan “Easy surprise” to position the store as a destination for people to find “surprising innovations that make life easier”.

    Not only does the brand have in-house R&D teams that develop exclusive products, it also explores innovative products from makers all over the world.

    “For offline commerce to have any real meaning in the future internet-based society, it must meet the spiritual needs of consumers,” says Xin Kexia, “and offer customers a richer experience. Our mission is to consistently offer fresh and exciting product that customers have never seen before.”

    To help achieve this goal, the Sanpower Group has made active strategic adjustments and joined hands with Brookstone to sign a co-operation agreement with research and innovation institution MIT Media Lab.

    For China, Brookstone is adopting a sales model featuring hands-on interactive shopping. Store “associates” (rather than sales persons) will show customers how to control its products.

    Looking ahead, Brookstone’s China strategy will include opening independent shops in airports and high-speed railway stations, says chairman and Sanpower Group global vice-president Piau Phang Foo. It will also continue to launch store-in-stores in Sanpower’s offline retail brands, including Hisap and Smart Funtalk Telecommunications.