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Brookstone Inc is known as a specialty retailer where customers have the opportunity of trying every item they see on display before actually making up their minds about buying something. That's the kind of commitment to quality that the store has emphasized since they opened their very first retail store in New Hampshire back in 1972.

Origins of an Online Retailer Giant

Every huge company starts from something small and the same thing is true for this well known catalog and online retailer. This company started off with a partnership between a husband and wife, Pierre and Marry de Beaumont. Before opening up their very first retail store, they started out as a specialty catalog supplier.

They marketed their products to hobbyists by the means of catalogs sent through the mail. They initially made their headquarters in a farmhouse and named the company after the Berkshires farm. Their catalogs contained a list of products that Pierre de Beaumont designed and constructed, which is what he really had a knack for.

Their first product line contained a unique batch of items and was classified as hard to find tools and other items. The thousands of catalogs they mailed also contained specific dimensions and characteristics of each product to provide customers an intelligent option. One of the Brookstone ads was eventually featured in the magazine Popular Mechanics. Later on, the demand for the company's unique tools increased and so did their customer base.

Retail Store Avenues

With its growing success, this specialty retailer moved on the other avenues where they can generate more sales. Thus, as stated earlier, the company opened their first retail store in 1972. Ten years later, other retail store outlets were opened in various locations. Later on, additional products that were not listed in their catalogs were introduced in the stores, which diversified the Brookstone market base even further.

Expanding Product Offerings

Due to the success of the company's product offerings at the onset, the owners decided to add more to the existing items they initially had. What started out as a product line limited to specialty items only, certain products related to audio, leisure, travel, technology, electronics, and games were added in due course. This is about the time when the idea of having a hands-on first experience was incorporated, which occurred sometime within the 80's.

Due to the increased number of products, the 1980's became a decade of monetary success for Brookstone. The wider product base also increased the number of potential customers. At that juncture, the company had a diversified market base and was not only limited to the people who subscribed to their monthly catalogs.

Record breaking sales reached up to 93 million dollars back in 1987 but that isn't exactly the company's total profit that year. During this same time, the company wanted to steer clear of the men's only store image. The idea was to transform the overall theme of the store from a boy's tool and gadget shop to a well rounded retailer designed for all consumers.

The Store Today

This specialty item retailer today has made their mark on the Internet. They have an online store that showcases all their products including several sales options. All in all, Brookstone was able to rise from just another catalog retailer to a well rounded specialty retailer both in print and online.