5 of Mitt Romney's Best Bain Capital Buys

Brookstone
The Sharper Image went from a gadget store to a logo on iPod docks, shavers and luggage found at Macy's(M), JCPenney(JCP) and Bed, Bath & Beyond(BBBY). Brookstone morphed from a gadget store competing with the Sharper Image to one competing with high-end Hammacher Schlemmer and its $13,000 motorized monocycle. Guess who did something right?

When Romney and Bain took over Brookstone in 1991, it wasn't to change the products but to change the model for selling them. Brookstone was relying largely on stores and catalogs to sell other manufacturers' Swiss Army knives and gadgets. Romney and Bain replaced Brookstone's CEO in 1993, began shifting the balance of stock to Brookstone-branded items, making the store and catalog lineups look more alike and adding store-exclusive items to drive traffic.

The store added kiosks in malls that already had Brookstone outlets and began shifting more catalog content onto its website in 1996. By 2000, more than 60% of Brookstone's sales came from its home-branded products. The focus shifted from gifts to somewhat more practical items such as hair dryers and barbecue forks. That approach drove revenue, kept the customers coming and, eventually, helped Brookstone survive while Sharper Image declared bankruptcy.

Today, Brookstone still has 300 stores but relies on that same multipronged approach of Web and catalog service to not only stay afloat but to boost sales 8.8% and push same-store sales 6.7% last year. Those tweaks made during the Bain years didn't always hold, as Brookstone saw big declines in 2009, but they set a template for how the company could survive a changing climate, streamline and remain relevant -- if only somewhat less indebted. Doing the same to certain elements of the federal government, if not the whole thing, seems like a prerequisite for any serious GOP candidate.