Fred’s to Close an Additional 129 Stores and Hold Inventory Clearance Sales Across All Stores


Encourages Customers to Take Advantage of Unique Value-Priced Shopping Opportunities

Pharmacies to Remain Open

MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fred’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) today announced that it will close an additional 129 retail stores and hold inventory clearance sales across all stores in an effort to refocus its product mix, simplify its store portfolio and repay debt.

Following the planned 129 closures, Fred’s will have approximately 80 retail stores remaining, centered primarily around the Company’s distribution center in Dublin, GA.  Lists of stores that will be closed and that will remain open are included below. Fred’s may evaluate re-launching certain closed stores in the future under a new operating model, with an updated assortment. The Company expects the proceeds from the inventory clearance sales will be used to repay outstanding indebtedness under its revolving credit agreement. 

All pharmacies (including the 69 within the 129 stores referenced above) will remain open and the Company will continue to fulfill prescriptions at its pharmacy locations, as it continues to pursue the sale of its remaining pharmacy locations and opportunities to monetize pieces of its real estate portfolio.  The Company currently operates 166 pharmacies.

Joseph Anto, Fred's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "While it is never easy to make decisions that impact our valued employees and customers, this initiative represents another necessary step in our continued efforts to stabilize our business by simplifying our store portfolio and product assortment.” 

Mr. Anto continued, "We are pleased to present our loyal customers the unique and compelling opportunity to purchase heavily discounted items for a limited time. We encourage shoppers to take advantage of these unmatched deals, and stock up on items that may be permanently removed from Fred’s shelves, come August."

Fred’s has partnered with Malfitano Advisors, LLC and SB360 Capital Partners to help manage the clearance sale process. 

About Fred’s, Inc.
Since 1947, Fred's, Inc. has been an integral part of the communities it serves throughout the southeastern United States. Fred's mission is to make it easy AND exciting to save money. Its unique discount value store format offers customers a full range of value-priced everyday items, along with terrific deals on closeout merchandise throughout the store. For more information about the Company, visit Fred's website at www.fredsinc.com.

Forward Looking Statements
Comments in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. A reader can identify forward-looking statements because they are not limited to historical facts or they use such words as "outlook," "guidance," "may," "should," "could," "believe," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "objective," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "committed," "continue," or "will likely result" and similar expressions that concern the Company's strategy, plans, intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future financial and operating results, the Company's plans, objectives, business outlook, priorities, expectations and intentions, expectations for sales growth, comparable sales, earnings and performance, shareholder value, capital expenditures, cash flows, demand for products, share repurchases, strategic initiatives, including those relating to store closures and acquisitions and dispositions by the Company and the expected impact of such transactions on our strategic and operational plans and financial results, and any statement of an assumption underlying any of the foregoing and other statements that are not historical facts. Although we believe that the expectations, opinions, projections and comments reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and we can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. A wide variety of potential risks, uncertainties and other factors could materially affect our ability to achieve the results either expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements including, but not limited to risks and uncertainties associated with: (i) the competitive nature of the industries in which we operate; (ii) our turnaround plan and the implementation of our strategic initiatives, and their impact on our sales, costs and operations; (iii) our store closures and the related sales of inventory and real estate issues; (iv) our divestitures; (v) utilizing our existing and new stores and the extent of our pharmacy department presence in new and existing stores; (vi) conditions affecting the retail sector as a whole; (vii) our reliance on a single supplier of pharmaceutical products; (viii) our pharmaceutical drug pricing; (ix) reimbursement rates and the terms of our agreements with pharmacy benefit management companies; (x) consolidation in the healthcare industry; (xi) our private brands; (xii) the seasonality of our business and the impact of adverse weather conditions; (xiii) operational, supply chain and distribution difficulties; (xiv) merchandise supply and pricing; (xv) consumer demand and product mix; (xvi) delayed openings and operating new stores and distribution facilities; (xvii) our employees; (xviii) risks relating to payment processing; (xix) our computer systems, and the processes supported by our information technology infrastructure; (xx) our ability to protect the personal information of our customers and employees; (xxi) cyber-attacks; (xxii) changes in governmental regulations; (xxiii) the outcome of legal proceedings, including claims of product liability; (xxiv) insurance costs; (xxv) tax assessments and unclaimed property audits; (xxvi) current economic conditions; (xxvii) our indebtedness and our ability to satisfy our debt obligations and obtain forbearance or waivers for any defaults; (xxviii) the terms of our existing and future indebtedness, including the covenants set forth in the documents governing such indebtedness; (xxix) any acquisitions we may pursue and the ability to effectively integrate businesses that we acquire; (xxx) our ability to remediate the material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting and otherwise maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting; (xxxi) our largest stockholder holding a significant percentage of our outstanding equity; (xxxii) our ability to pay dividends and/or repurchase shares of our Class A voting common stock; (xxxiii) our ability to attract and retain talented executives; (xxxiv) any strategic alternatives that we decide to pursue, if any; (xxxv) our ability to continue as a going concern; (xxxvi) our ability to meet all applicable Nasdaq requirements; and (xxxvii) the factors listed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any subsequent quarterly filings on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to release revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unforeseen events, except as required to be reported under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts
Fred’s, Inc:
Jen Ehlers
817-369-5772
jen.ehlers@fredsinc.com 

LIST OF CLOSING STORE LOCATIONS

ADDRESSCITYSTATEZIP
120 SPRING BRANCH DRALEXANDRIAAL36250
13210 NORTH WINTZELL AVEBAYOU LA BATREAL36509
307 NORTH MULBERRY AVEBUTLERAL36904
300 PARK DRCLANTONAL35046
340 VIRGINIA AVEDALEVILLEAL36322
996 HIGHWAY 203ELBAAL36323
7250 US-43GUINAL35563
916 21ST STREETHALEYVILLEAL35565
280 HIGHWAY 78 WESTJASPERAL35501
525 4TH AVENUE NERED BAYAL35582
16100 HWY 72ROGERSVILLEAL35652
9574 HWY-18VERNONAL35592
808 WEST COLLIN RAYE DRDEQUEENAR71832
611 US 65 SDUMASAR71639
1301 NORTH ILLINOIS AVEHARRISBURGAR72432
#2 FOREST PARK AVEHOLIDAY ISLANDAR72631
1218 US-82LAKE VILLAGEAR71653
801 SOUTH HIGHWAY 77MANILAAR72442
438 SOUTH ALABAMA STMARIANNAAR72360
103 DAWSON STMARKED TREEAR72365
614 SOUTH MAIN STNASHVILLEAR71852
303 EAST MAIN STPIGGOTTAR72454
2809 SOUTH CAMDEN RDPINE BLUFFAR71603
1309 S LINCOLN STSTAR CITYAR71667
10 EAGLE STVILONIAAR72173
507 WEST PINEWARRENAR71671
HWY 49 TWIN CITY S/CWEST HELENAAR72390
320 HWY 14 SOUTHYELLVILLEAR72687
1718 SOUTH WAUKESHA STBONIFAYFL32425
935 EAST HIGHWAY 90MADISONFL32340
1150 N JEFFERSON STMONTICELLOFL32344
WILLIAMS STALMAGA31510
214 HWY 49BYRONGA31008
1009 NORTH 3RD AVECHATSWORTHGA30705
93 BUSHROD JOHNSON AVECHICKAMAUGAGA30707
HWY 17 NORTHDARIENGA31305
203 N MAIN STGREENSBOROGA30642
124 8TH STREETHELENA (MCRAE)GA31037
534 BELL CREEK RDHIAWASSEEGA30546
2001 BILLY TUCKER CLHOGANSVILLEGA30230
719 SOUTH DAVIS STNASHVILLEGA31639
1567 N CHEROKEE RDSOCIAL CIRCLEGA30025
204 EAST KELLY STSYLVESTERGA31791
923 N BYPASS EASTWASHINGTONGA30673
605 N MAIN STWRENSGA30833
213 WEST RANDOLPH STREETMCLEANSBOROIL62859
260 KEEN STREETBURKESVILLEKY42717
1938 MAIN STREETCADIZKY42211
509 NORTH MAIN STTOMPKINSVILLEKY42167
1311 NORTH HAZEL STREETARCADIALA71001
5604 HWY 3BENTONLA71006
5590 BARKSDALE BLVDBOSSIER CITYLA71112
109 CHEVY LNBUNKIELA71322
8155 US 165COLUMBIALA71418
522 LINCOLN RDEAST MONROELA71203
1075 HWY 80 EASTHAUGHTONLA71037
902 WEST MAIN STHOMERLA71040
715 1ST AVEKINDERLA70648
2019 FARMERVILLE HWYRUSTONLA71270
7139 US HWY 61ST FRANCISVILLELA70775
1320 SR-2STERLINGTONLA71280
125 E MAIN STEAST PRARIEMO63845
499 WEST HWY 162PORTAGEVILLEMO63873
441 N FOURTH STBALDWYNMS38824
2675 HWY 15BAY SPRINGSMS39422
520 NORTH HAYDEN STBELZONIMS39038
403 W CALHOUN STBRUCEMS38915
229 NORTH UNIONCANTONMS39046
300 SOUTH PEARLE STREETCARTHAGEMS39051
456 HWY 24CENTREVILLEMS39631
304 W MAIN STCHARLESTONMS38921
236 DESOTO AVECLARKSDALEMS38614
1211 SOUTH FIR AVECOLLINSMS39428
14916 SR-16DEKALBMS39328
300 SR-9EUPORAMS39744
101 MANSKER DRIVEFLORAMS39071
1409 ADAMS STREETFULTONMS38843
2616 HWY 82 EASTGREENWOODMS38930
615 HWY 25 SOUTHIUKAMS38852
6230 OLD CANTON RDJACKSON OLD CANTONMS39211
951 MAIN STLEAKESVILLEMS39451
502 SOUTH CHURCHLOUISVILLLEMS39339
1039 MARTIN LUTHER KING DRIVEMARKSMS38646
1618 DELAWARE AVEMCCOMBMS39648
3050 SIMPSON, HWY 13MENDENHALLMS39114
1509 BROAD STREET WESTMONTICELLOMS39654
31 SGT PRENTISS DRIVENATCHEZMS39120
126 WEST MAIN STREETNEW ALBANYMS38652
1388 SOUTH MAIN STPOPLARVILLEMS39470
1635 COLUMBIA AVEPRENTISSMS39474
509 HWY 589PURVISMS39475
111 WILLOW BROOK DRIVESALTILLOMS38866
710 CHURCH ROADSOUTHAVENMS38671
2110 GOODMAN ROAD EASTSOUTHAVENMS38671
4233 ROCKY BRANCH ROADSUMRALLMS39482
1038 US 61TUNICAMS38676
409 DUNCAN STREETWATER VALLEYMS38965
603 MIDDLETON RDWINONAMS38967
118 MAIN STREETANDREWSNC28901
102 MCREYNOLDS STCARTHAGENC28327
1528 SOUTH LAFAYETTE STSHELBYNC28152
763 SR-28ABBEVILLESC29620
311 EAST MAIN STANDREWSSC29510
116 RIVER STREETBELTONSC29627
227 APPLE SQUARE PLAZAEDGEFIELDSC29824
297 SOUTH HWY 20WILLIAMSTONSC29669
1200 WEST CHURCH STALAMOTN38001
11888 HWY 70ARLINGTONTN38002
1560 DONELSON PKWYDOVERTN37058
5897 EAST MAIN STERINTN37061
535 WEST MAINHENDERSONTN38340
88 LOVELVILLE HWYLINDENTN37096
890 E MAIN STLIVINGSTONTN38570
3561 MAYNARDVILLE HWYMAYNARDVILLETN37807
87 SOUTH MAIN STMCKENZIETN38201
1290 LAMAR AVEMEMPHIS LAMARTN38104
250 E STRATTON AVEMONTEREYTN38574
501 TENNESSEE AVE NORTHPARSONSTN38363
327 N MAIN STPIKEVILLETN37367
16280 US-64SOMERVILLETN38068
730 EVERETT STREETTIPTONVILLETN38079
2045 US 45TRENTONTN38382
307 HWY 64  EASTWAYNESBOROTN38485
5305 NEW HIGHWAY 31 EWESTMORELANDTN37186
4928 HWY 70WHITE BLUFFTN37187
218 WATSON BLVDDAINGERFIELDTX75638
375 W HWY 84FAIRFIELDTX75840
850 N BEAULAH STHAWKINSTX75765
113 NORTH GREER BLVDPITTSBURGTX75686

LIST OF STORE LOCATIONS REMAINING OPEN

ADDRESSCITYSTATEZIP
24 CAMDEN BYPASSCAMDENAL36726
19580 N 3RD STCITRONELLEAL36522
21665 HWY 25COLUMBIANAAL35051
17916 HWY 280DADEVILLEAL36853
505 US-80DEMOPOLISAL36732
206 GREENSBORO AVEEUTAWAL35462
320 BELLEVILLE STREETEVERGREENAL36401
804 CLEVELAND STHEADLANDAL36345
731 ROSS STHEFLINAL36264
47950 US 78LINCOLNAL35096
50 TALLADEGA STLINEVILLEAL36266
720 N WASHINGTON STLIVINGSTONAL35470
821 SOUTH FOREST AVELUVERNEAL36049
165 BESSEMER SUPERMIDFIELDAL35228
4559 HWY 25MONTEVALLOAL35115
1001 CROSSROADS PLAZA DRMOODYAL35004
505 NORTH MAINOPPAL36467
3920 US-80PHENIX CITYAL36869
110 SUTTON SQUARERAINBOW CITYAL35906
160 WEST MAIN STRAINSVILLEAL35986
213 PARK DRIVEWARRIORAL35180
5132 JOE FRANK HARRIS PKWYADAIRSVILLEGA30103
316 EAST WASHINGTONASHBURNGA31714
3764 EAST HWY 84BLACKSHEARGA31516
200 E LOUISE STCLARKSVILLEGA30523
413 N DUVALCLAXTONGA30417
1900 AUBURN AVECOLUMBUSGA31906
185 S ELM STCOMMERCEGA30529
101 NORTH WEBSTER STREETCUTHBERTGA39840
839 FORRESTER DRIVEDAWSONGA39842
409 WEST 3RD STDONALSONVILLEGA39845
705 US-80EAST DUBLINGA31027
103 FOURTH AVEEASTMANGA31023
726 SR-144GLENNVILLEGA30427
106 BILL CONNECTOR PKWGRAYGA31032
525 BROAD STREETHAWKINSVILLEGA31036
2872 TOBACCO RDHEPHZIBAHGA30815
369 S CHURCH STHOMERVILLEGA31634
307 W PATTON STLAFAYETTEGA30728
265 LAKES BLVDLAKE PARKGA31636
512 S VALDOSTA RDLAKELANDGA31635
11747 AUGUSTA BLVDLAVONIAGA30553
1705 PHILAMENA RD SOUTHLEESBURGGA31701
978 E BROAD STMETTERGA30439
506 NORTH HIGHWAY 25MILLENGA30442
506 SPAULDING RDMONTEZUMAGA31063
601 S MASON STMOUNT VERNONGA30445
139 WEST BRAZELL STREIDSVILLEGA30453
604 NORTHSIDE DR WESTSTATESBOROGA30458
518 WEST OGEECHEE STSYLVANIAGA30467
12596 N MAIN STTRENTONGA30752
1310 WEST MORTONOAKLAND CITYIN47660
708 WASHINGTON STFRANKLINTONLA70438
200 NORTH ELM STHAUGHTONLA71037
2866 BIENVILLE HWYRINGGOLDLA71068
475 HWY 6 EASTBATESVILLEMS38606
504 NORTH 2ND STREETBOONEVILLEMS38829
15 EAST STONEWALL RDBYHALIAMS38611
340 SR-12KOSCIUSKOMS39090
5186 HIGHWAY 80 EASTMORTONMS39117
7122 WILL ROBBINS HWYNETTLETONMS38858
7105 COCKRUM STREETOLIVE BRANCHMS38654
170 HIGHWAY 15 NORTHPONTOTOCMS38863
706 CITY AVE NORTHRIPLEYMS38663
250 HWY 19 SOUTHBRYSON CITYNC28713
677 US 19BURNSVILLENC28714
70 NEW CLYDE HWYCANTONNC28716
1346 NORWOOD ST SWLENOIRNC28645
3606 MAIN STBAMBERGSC29003
401 S ALABAMA AVECHESNEESC29323
2544 HWY 25 SOUTHGREENWOODSC29646
518 E GREER STHONEA PATHSC29654
198 STUCKEY STJOHNSONVILLESC29555
480 NELSON BLVDKINGSTREESC29556
437 NORTH MAIN STSALUDASC29138
181 WEST CAROLINA AVEVARNVILLESC29944
9810 HWY 57 SOUTHCOUNCETN38326
8487 SR-22DRESDENTN38225
829 W MAIN STMONTEAGLETN37356
100 PIONEER VILLAGE DRMOUNTAIN CITYTN37683