A $445 Million Massage For Brookstone

October 24, 2005 at 4:00 AM UTC

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The iSymphonic musical massage chair has proved quite a hit with overstressed Americans since it started showing up in Brookstone (BKST) stores in July. The $3,995 leather throne comes with a built-in CD player, surround-sound synchronized music, and rollers that knead back and leg muscles. But the easy chairs are just a start for their supplier, OSIM, a Singapore company that is Asia's largest specialty retailer. On Oct. 7, OSIM completed a deal to buy a 55% stake in Brookstone, based in Merrimack, N.H., and its 292 stores for $445 million. That gives OSIM and CEO/founder Ron Sim a foothold in the U.S. and a chance to augment the company's network of 540 stores in 26 countries from South Africa to Ukraine.

Sim, 46, thinks the market for "lifestyle products," such as exercise bicycles, heart monitors, and water purifiers, has room to grow. Factories that make the iSymphonic in Japan already are working overtime to meet demand.