Brookstone goes bust; no further impact on OSIM

TROUBLED US retailer Brookstone, which was 55 per cent owned by lifestyle products firm OSIM International, has officially gone bust, two months after it defaulted on an interest payment of its debt.

An OSIM spokeswoman told The Business Times yesterday that Brookstone had filed for Chapter 11 protection, a bankruptcy procedure under US law that enables companies to restructure and seek new sources of financing with new shareholders while remaining operational.

There will be no further financial effects on OSIM, which had made a $77 million write-off of Brookstone in 2009.