Brookstone Announces CEO Succession

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MERRIMACK, N.H., Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookstone, Inc. today announced that it has accepted the resignation of Ron Boire, its President and CEO and a member of the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Boire's resignation will be effective January 3, 2012, following which he will be joining Sears Holdings Corporation as its new Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer and President, Sears and Kmart Formats. Mr. Boire joined Brookstone in 2009.

Effective upon Mr. Boire's resignation, Jackson Tai, the Company's Chairman of the Board, will also serve as Interim President and CEO while the Company undertakes a search for a permanent successor for Mr. Boire. Mr. Tai has been a director since August 2008 and non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors since February 2009. Mr. Tai 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 NYSE Euronext, the Bank of China Limited, MasterCard Incorporated, Royal Philips Electronics NV, Singapore Airlines and privately-held Cassis International. Mr Tai, 61, holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Brookstone also announced that James M. Speltz has been appointed as the Company's Vice President, Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Speltz has been with the Company since 1998. Most recently, he has served as the Company's Vice President, Business Development and Supply Chain since January 2011, and previously held positions as the Operational Vice President of Inventory Management and various roles in the Company's IT Department.

Mr. Tai stated, "On behalf of the Board of Directors and myself, we look forward to working with Jim in his new role. For more than 13 years, Jim has been intimately involved in many critical aspects of the Company's operations and has been a key driver of the Company's new business initiatives in the wholesale and licensing areas. His "hands-on" leadership and his strong operating insight will be invaluable as the Company takes steps to meet the challenges presented by the current retail environment."

"Everyone at Brookstone is deeply committed to product excellence and the first-rate service our customers have come to expect from us," said Speltz. "I am proud to be able to continue working with Jack and our existing management team which has provided unparalleled leadership and strong support across all areas of the Company. I look forward to building upon the strength of the Brookstone brand, continuing the significant progress we have made over the past few years, and expanding upon our business development initiatives."

Thomas Moynihan, the Company's Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, reported that while the Company has not yet reconciled its 2011 year end accounts, the Company anticipates that its 2011 sales increased at least 5% over fiscal year 2010, and that it will have an estimated increase in its EBITDA of at least 20% over fiscal year 2010. The Company's cash balances remain healthy and will be approximately equal to its 2010 year end levels. Mr. Moynihan commented: "We continue to be encouraged by our improving operational and financial results despite the difficult macro-economic environment. Our new initiatives, including our on-line Marketplace and expanding Wholesale and Licensing divisions, have been important pieces of our continued success and will be critical to the Company's future growth. As previously announced, the Company recently entered into a new senior secured credit facility with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, which provides for a revolving credit facility with aggregate lending commitments of up to $100.0 million, a committed revolving credit facility accordion of up to $25.0 million and a $15.0 million term loan facility. This new credit facility, along with the Company's improved performance, position the Company well for continued growth."

Adam Suttin, a Partner of J.W. Childs Associates and a director of the Company since its 2005 acquisition by J.W. Childs Associates, OSIM International, Ltd. and Temasek Holdings (Pte) Limited, said, "Brookstone has been fortunate to have Ron's leadership over the last two years. He successfully implemented numerous new business initiatives that will have a lasting impact on the Company's continued growth and success. We thank Ron for his many contributions to Brookstone and wish him well in his future endeavors."

About Brookstone, Inc.

Brookstone, Inc. is an innovative product development and specialty lifestyle retail company that operates approximately 300 Brookstone branded 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

This press release contains 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 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, completion of the 2011 accounting reconciliation and audit review process, 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.

Contact:
Thomas F. Moynihan
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
(603) 880-9500

SOURCE Brookstone, Inc.