Brookstone to Acquire Williams-Sonoma’s Gardeners Eden Catalog
Brookstone Inc., Nashua, NH, will acquire the Gardeners Eden catalog from San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma Inc. in a transaction expected to close by the end of this week.
Gardeners Eden, a catalog retailer featuring outdoor furniture, landscape materials, live plants, decorative accessories and tools, generated annual sales of about $22 million with catalog circulation of around 10 million in fiscal 1998.
In statements, Brookstone said it did not plan any interruption to the existing Gardener’s Eden mailing schedule; and Williams-Sonoma said it had no further plans to divest any of its four other catalogs.
Brookstone will obtain the rights to the Gardeners Eden name a 2.6 million-name house list and inventory. Brookstone will also gain access to the Williams-Sonoma customer database for three years mailing the Gardeners Eden book to potential new customers.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. markets cookware and other products for the home and garden through more than 300 retail stores and five mail order catalogs: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Hold Everything and Chambers. Brookstone is a nationwide specialty retailer and direct marketer.
