Brookstone Trades On Brokerage Deal

Customers of specialty retailer Brookstone will receive a $100 gift certificate for use online at Brookstone.com, as well as through the catalog and at the stores when they open an E*Trade online brokerage account between November 15, 1999 and January 31, 2000, the companies say. As part of the new alliance, Brookstone will promote its e-commerce site through various branding efforts on the E*Trade website.

Throughout the holiday season, E*Trade applications will be inserted in the Brookstone fall holiday catalog and included in all shipments of the Brookstone Gift Collection and Hard-to-Find Tools catalogs, the retailer says. E*Trade customers will be able to redeem certificates obtained through the promotion online or at any Brookstone store through December 2000, says the Menlo Park, Calif.-based trading firm.

"By tying into E*Trade's affluent and online customer base, our aim is to drive high traffic levels to the Brookstone.com site during the busiest shopping season of the year," says Michael Anthony, CEO of Brookstone Inc., Nashua, N.H. Likewise, E*Trade says that Brookstone's customers fit its "financially savvy Internet user" profile.

Brookstone is a nationwide specialty retailer that operates 206 stores typically located in high-traffic regional shopping malls and airports. The company also operates a direct marketing business that consists of three catalogs, The Brookstone Gift Collection, Hard-to-Find Tools and the recently acquired Gardeners Eden catalog, as well as its online shopping website.