Brookstone closes 3Q down

Banishing the Gardeners’ Eden product line still left Merrimack-based lifestyle retailer Brookstone’s revenues in limbo, reporting $76.7 million in net sales, a 7.3 percent decrease for the third quarter of 2005 ended Oct. 29.

It was the last revenue report to shareholders of the firm, which was acquired in October by private equity investors.

Operations also reported a loss of $11.7, over $5 million greater than continuing operations of the third quarter of 2004, which rang in at $6 million.

This brought the company’s net loss to $13.4 million, over a $6.7 million net loss for the same quarter last year.

Year-to-date figures reflected the lower sales volume with net sales of $241 million, a 3.9 percent decrease, for the nine-month period.

While direct marketing sales remained flat at $13.9 million for the third quarter, year-to-date sales rose $1.4 million to $38 million.

Because of the seasonal nature of specialty retailing, Brookstone generally carries a loss over the first three quarters and makes its profit for the year in the fourth quarter.

Michael Anthony, Brookstone president and CEO, said in a press release, “In the first nine months of 2005, we introduced a number of new innovative products in a variety of categories. However, these new products were not enough to offset some significant declines in a number of categories that performed extremely well for us last year.”

He went on to add that many of the new products “performed at or above expectations,” and the company will be launching a number of new products in the first quarter of 2006.

Shortly before the start of the end of the third quarter, Oct. 4, Brookstone was acquired by OSIM International Ltd. and affiliates of J.W. Childs Equity Partners III LP and Temasek Capital Ltd. — CINDY KIBBE