Claire’s Stores Appoints John A. Zimmermann as President, North America

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March 29, 2008

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., March 27 /PRNewswire/ — Claire’s Stores, Inc., a leading specialty retailer offering value-priced jewelry and accessories, has named John A. Zimmermann as President, North America reporting to Gene Kahn, Claire’s CEO.
John will lead the Claire’s and Icing North American businesses. He has direct responsibility for merchandising and operations of more than 2,100 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and will participate as a key leader within the Corporate Senior Management Team helping to establish future global direction. He spent the last six years with the Zale Corporation, most recently as Corporate Group President and President, Zale North America.
John Zimmermann is an important addition to our Company’s management team. He brings to Claire’s an extensive retail background and proven track record based on the skills he has developed over three decades of successfully operating and growing businesses within the specialty retail arena. He has strong merchandising experience that produced excellent revenue performance with commensurate financial results.
“Claire’s North America is our largest division and an important segment of our business. We are very pleased to have John, with his impressive credentials and capabilities, providing the leadership to take our business forward,” said Gene Kahn. “I am excited by this addition to our team based on John’s experience and achievements, which have encompassed growing revenue, expanding gross margin and managing inventory while always remaining focused on the customers’ expectations. He will be a valuable addition in strengthening our merchandising, planning and allocation, store operations, and marketing efforts in North America.”
“Claire’s represents a significant opportunity and I am delighted to join such an outstanding retail team,” said John Zimmermann. “My experiences are very relevant to Claire’s goals, and I am confident that together we will be able to build upon the Company’s record of accomplishment.”
Starting as an executive trainee in 1981 with John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia, PA-based department store, John went on to hold senior merchandising and executive positions with retail chains that included Federated Department Stores, The Children’s Place and Bon Marche, Carter Hawley Hale’s The Broadway Stores and Contempo Casuals, as well as Bradlees. At Zale, as a Corporate Senior Vice President and President of Zale Canada Company, he led a successful turnaround of the company. In his most recent Zale assignment as President, North America, a 990-store $1.4 billion jewelry retailer with units in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, he addressed challenging issues that embraced merchandising, sales, marketing and operational improvement.
John succeeds Lisa LaFosse, who served Claire’s for 17 plus years and contributed greatly to the success the Company enjoyed. She joined Claire’s as a District Sales Manager and then held progressively more senior roles ultimately assuming the position of President, North America. “Lisa is leaving to spend more time with her family and to pursue other opportunities. We offer our gratitude and appreciation for her many years of service to Claire’s,” said Gene Kahn.
Company Overview
Claire’s Stores, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of value-priced jewelry and accessories for girls and young women through its two store concepts: Claire’s and Icing. While the latter operates only in North America, Claire’s operates internationally. As of March 1, 2008, Claire’s Stores, Inc. operated 3,038 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Claire’s Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire’s Nippon, Co., Ltd., 199 stores in Japan as a 50:50 joint venture with AEON, Co., Ltd. The Company also franchises 167 stores in the Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Poland, South Africa and Guatemala.
Additional Information:
Note: Other Claire’s Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile and the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q Equivalent are available on Claire’s business website at: .
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” which represent the Company’s expectations or beliefs with respect to future events. Statements that are not historical are considered forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Those factors include, without limitation: changes in consumer preferences and consumer spending; competition; general economic conditions such as inflation and increased energy costs; general political and social conditions such as war, political unrest and terrorism; natural disasters or severe weather events; currency fluctuations and exchange rate adjustments; uncertainties generally associated with the specialty retailing business; disruptions in our supply of inventory; inability to increase same store sales at historical rates; significant increases in our merchandise markdowns; inability to design and implement new information systems; delays in anticipated store openings or renovations; uncertainty that definitive financial results may differ from preliminary financial results due to, among other things, final GAAP adjustments; changes in applicable laws, rules and regulations, including changes in federal, state or local regulations governing the sale of our products, particularly regulations relating to the metal content in jewelry, and employment laws relating to overtime pay, tax laws and import laws; loss of key members of management; increases in the cost of labor; labor disputes; increases in the cost of borrowings; unavailability of additional debt or equity capital; and the impact of our substantial indebtedness on our operating income and our ability to grow. These and other applicable risks, cautionary statements and factors that could cause actual results to differ from the Company’s forward-looking statements are included in the Company’s filings with the SEC, specifically as described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2007 and Form 10-Q Equivalent for the quarterly period ended May 5, 2007. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Contact Information
Marisa Jacobs, Vice President of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations. Phone: (212) 594-3127, Fax: (212) 244-4237 or E-mail,
Claire’s Stores, Inc.