Brookstone is closing all its mall stores after filing for bankruptcy
You'll have to go somewhere else to purchase vibrating chairs and electric towel warmers.
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Brookstone, the quirky retailer known for selling fun-but-unnecessary items ranging from vibrating chairs to electric towel warmers, will close all of its 101 stores located in shopping malls after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years.
Locally, there are Brookstone locations in the King of Prussia Mall, the Christiana Mall in Newark, Del., and on Route 1 in Princeton. The Brookstone location at Philadelphia International Airport will remain open as the company focuses solely on its 35 airport locations and its online and wholesale business.
"The decision to close our mall stores was difficult, but ultimately provides an opportunity to maintain our well-respected brand and award-winning products while operating with a smaller physical footprint," CEO Piau Phang Foo said in a statement.
According to a bankruptcy filing Thursday, Brookstone has assets of $50 million to $100 million, and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.
Brookstone first filed for bankruptcy protection in 2014. The Merrimack, N.H., company was sold at auction in June of that year before emerging from bankruptcy protection.
The company was founded in 1965 when Pierre de Beaumont put an ad in Popular Mechanics Magazine offering hard-to-find tools and other devices, according to the company's website. Its first store opened in 1973.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.