Syms Appoints Jason Somerfeld Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager

SECAUCUS, N.J., May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Syms Corp (Nasdaq: SYMS), the leading off-price retailer, today named Jason Somerfeld as Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager. In this newly created position, Mr. Somerfeld will oversee merchandising for the newly integrated company incorporating the Syms, Filene's Basement, and co-branded Syms Clothing/Filene's Basement stores.

He will report to Joel Feigenbaum, who was appointed in March as Chief Integration Officer to direct the strategic merger of the Syms and Filene's Basement brands. Mr. Somerfeld will be based in Syms' corporate headquarters in Secaucus.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marcy Syms commented, "As we integrate the brands further with initiatives such as the co-branded stores, Jason brings substantial expertise and insight into how a company can transform to capitalize on market demand. He will help us leverage the strengths of what Syms and Filene's Basement can offer customers that no other retailer can match."

"The combination of Syms and Filene's Basement is truly a perfect marriage, and I am excited to be part of the team that will fine-tune this already successful model," says Mr. Somerfeld. "As both brands evolve, they will each lend more strength to the other, creating the best of both worlds for the customer." As GMM, Mr. Somerfeld will seek to enhance Syms' European product offerings, as well as expand their West Coast vendor matrix of contemporary brands.

Mr. Somerfeld previously served as Senior Vice President of Branding and Fashion Direction at Burlington Coat Factory, where he helped reshape the company's image throughout its more than 400 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. By pioneering the addition of contemporary men's and women's clothing into the chain, he evolved "trend-right" product to balance traditional offerings. He also developed a solid foundation of West Coast resources, sourcing contemporary product that moved the company's focus toward more consumer must-have items.

Mr. Somerfeld began his career at the Saks Fifth Avenue Executive Training Program, after which he became a senior buyer for the Searle stores. Prior to his senior leadership role at Burlington Coat Factory, he served as Vice President and General Merchandise Manager at Cohoes, a subsidiary of Burlington Coat Factory. At Cohoes, he was responsible for overseeing all men's and women's apparel, accessories, and shoes, and developed a branded European resource structure for all classifications. Mr. Somerfeld has taught numerous fashion and marketing courses as an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information in this press release includes forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) and information relating to Syms Corp and its subsidiaries that are based on the beliefs of Syms' management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Syms' management. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "plan" and similar expressions as they relate to Syms Corp and its subsidiaries, identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of Syms Corp with respect to future events, the outcome of which is subject to certain risks, including, among others, general economic and market conditions, decreased consumer demand for Syms' and Filene's Basement's products, possible disruptions in Syms' computer or telephone systems, possible work stoppages or increase in labor costs, effects of competition, the impact of integrating Filene's Basement's business and Syms Corp's existing business, possible disruptions or delays in the opening of new stores or inability to obtain suitable sites for new stores, higher than anticipated store closings or relocation costs, higher interest rates and borrowing costs, unanticipated increases in merchandise or occupancy costs, and other factors which may be outside control of Syms Corp. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Syms Corp or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph.

For further information, please contact Davia Temin or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or [email protected].

SOURCE Syms Corp

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