Profitable Season

Brookstone Inc. (Nashua, N.H.) announced that its same-store sales for the two-month holiday period ended January 3 increased 12.6 over the same period last year. Total sales rose 18.5 percent to $198.7 million, while direct-marketing sales increased 29.6 percent to $33.8 million.

“In this highly competitive and volatile retail environment, our success is related directly to the quality and uniqueness of the products we bring to market,” says Brookstone chairman, president and ceo Michael Anthony. “These results also reflect our longstanding strategy of differentiating our company and generating sales by way of our unique products, rather than through price promotions and discounts.

“Furthermore, stores incorporating our award-winning new store design performed extremely well, with remodeled stores delivering sales increases at approximately twice the company average.”

Brookstone operates 272 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico, three stores under the Gardeners Eden brand and a direct-marketing business under the Brookstone, Hard-to-Find Tools and Gardeners Eden catalog titles.