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Fred’s to Close 104 Underperforming Stores in the Southeast

MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fred’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) today announced it will begin to close an additional 104 underperforming stores as part of an ongoing effort to rationalize its store footprint.  

Fred’s decision to close additional underperforming stores follows a continued evaluation of the Company's store portfolio, including historical and recent store performance and the timing of lease expirations, among other factors. Liquidation sales at the 104 stores designated for closure will begin today while the Company’s other stores will remain open. 

Joseph Anto, Fred’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “These additional store closures are a difficult, but necessary step in the continued restructuring of Fred’s.”

Fred’s intends to close all 104 impacted stores by the end of June 2019. Fred’s has continued its partnership with Malfitano Advisors, LLC and SB360 Capital Partners to help manage the process and ensure a seamless experience for customers. 

A list of impacted stores may be found at the end of this release.

Forbearance Agreement
Fred’s also announced today that it has entered into a forbearance agreement and amendment with its lenders under the Company’s revolving credit facility, as described in more detail in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

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 Statement
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 continued 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; and (xxxvi) the factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K 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 STORE LOCATIONS TO BE CLOSED

ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP
802 MAIN ST NE HANCEVILLE AL 35077
2146 S OATES ST DOTHAN AL 36301
105 MEMORIAL PARKWAY WEST ALICEVILLE AL 35442
802 FORREST AVE EAST BREWTON AL 36426
17870 BALDWIN FARMS PL ROBERTSDALE AL 36567
1734 KOWALIGA RD ECLECTIC AL 36024
35360 US HIGHWAY 231 ASHVILLE AL 35953
715 E MAIN ST PRATTVILLE AL 36067
8515 DOLLARWAY RD WHITE HALL AR 71602
57 S BROADVIEW ST GREENBRIER AR 72058
6027 HIGHWAY 67 HASKELL AR 72015
609 EAST MAIN STREET MELBOURNE AR 72556
15700 ARCH ST LITTLE ROCK AR 72206
110 N MAIN ST MALVERN AR 72104
1002 HIGHWAY 65 N MARSHALL AR 72650
2695 STATE HIGHWAY 77 S MARION AR 72364
4212 E JOHNSON AVE JONESBORO AR 72401
406 W MAIN ST MAGNOLIA AR 71753
406 HIGHWAY 425 S MONTICELLO AR 71655
428 S JAMES ST JACKSONVILLE AR 72076
1701 COMMERCE RD PINE BLUFF AR 71601
652 HIGHWAY 365 MAYFLOWER AR 72106
1302 HIGHWAY 64 E AUGUSTA AR 72006
198 N CURTIS AVE PEA RIDGE AR 72751
6522 CAROLINE ST MILTON FL 32570
1535 OHIO AVE S LIVE OAK FL 32064
1435 S ORANGE AVE GREEN CV SPGS FL 32043
1442 TIFT AVE N TIFTON GA 31794
15 COLBERT BUSINESS PKWY W COLBERT GA 30628
813 BOWENS MILL RD SE DOUGLAS GA 31533
2601 S MAIN ST MOULTRIE GA 31768
118 ROBERT B LEE DRIVE LEESBURG GA 31763
3233 MARTHA BERRY HWY NW ROME GA 30165
650 W CHERRY ST JESUP GA 31545
875 S MAIN ST BAXLEY GA 31513
425 SIGMAN RD NW CONYERS GA 30012
1090 HIGHWAY 19 N THOMASTON GA 30286
1001 N SLAPPEY BLVD ALBANY GA 31701
4401 BEMISS ROAD VALDOSTA GA 31605
122 HILLCREST PKWY DUBLIN GA 31021
224 E. 4TH STREET OCILLA GA 31774
6109 HOUSTON RD MACON GA 31216
1021 HWY 45 NORTH EL DORADO IL 62930
6 N 4TH ST BREESE IL 62230
1181 MAIN ST MUNFORDVILLE KY 42765
1117 LINCOLN PARK RD SPRINGFIELD KY 40069
1701 N 18TH ST MONROE LA 71201
899 N HIGHWAY 171 MOSS BLUFF LA 70611
2615 N 7TH ST WEST MONROE LA 71291
2017 E MADISON AVE BASTROP LA 71220
7616 HIGHWAY 80 RUSTON LA 71270
306 MOREAU ST MARKSVILLE LA 71351
1882 AIRLINE DR BOSSIER CITY LA 71112
207 WASHINGTON ST WEST MONROE LA 71292
4828 SHREVEPORT HWY TIOGA LA 71260
603 E WASHINGTON ST HAYTI MO 63851
905 HIGHWAY 278 E AMORY MS 38821
605 S JACKSON ST STARKVILLE MS 39759
964 BROOKWAY BLVD BROOKHAVEN MS 39601
1930 UNIVERSITY AVE OXFORD MS 38655
6 E COMMERCE ST HERNANDO MS 38632
2040 E SHILOH RD CORINTH MS 38834
5760 HIGHWAY 80 E PEARL MS 39208
5266 OLD HIGHWAY 11 HATTIESBURG MS 39402
12201 HIGHWAY 57 VANCLEAVE MS 39565
1317 E MAIN ST TUPELO MS 38804
25096 HIGHWAY 51 CRYSTAL SPRINGS MS 39059
1898 SPILLWAY RD BRANDON MS 39047
401 E LEE ST SARDIS MS 38666
102 NORFLEET DR SENATOBIA MS 38668
7833 HWY 613 MOSS POINT MS 39563
200 CLINTON BLVD CLINTON MS 39056
140 TRADE CENTER LN HAZLEHURST MS 39083
8912 NORTHWEST DR SOUTHAVEN MS 38671
150 PARK LANE DR RUTHERFORDTON NC 28139
2350 SPRINGS RD NE HICKORY NC 28601
200 SPARTANBURG HWY LYMAN SC 29365
908 ANDERSON ST PIEDMONT SC 29673
2404 WEST BLVD CHESTERFIELD SC 29709
618 SUMTER HWY BISHOPVILLE SC 29010
106 JIMMY MARTIN CIR GASTON SC 29053
1521 JEFFERSON DAVIS HWY CAMDEN SC 29020
1827 WILSON RD NEWBERRY SC 29108
209 BROAD ST SUMTER SC 29150
505 LAURENS RD WOODRUFF SC 29388
1405 S HOME ST UNION CITY TN 38261
6064 STAGE RD BARTLETT TN 38134
1109 SCOTTSVILLE RD LAFAYETTE TN 37083
733 LAWRENCE ST ETOWAH TN 37331
2549 N CENTRAL AVE HUMBOLDT TN 38343
159 W TURN TABLE RD SPARTA TN 38583
1103 FLORENCE RD SAVANNAH TN 38372
1797 HWY 100 EAST CENTERVILLE TN 37033
425 W 7TH ST COLUMBIA TN 38401
535 HIGH ST HUNTINGDON TN 38344
522 S MAIN ST SWEETWATER TN 37874
4589 QUINCE RD MEMPHIS TN 38117
5028 S 1ST ST MILAN TN 38358
7143 WINCHESTER ROAD MEMPHIS TN 38125
6500 QUINCE ROAD MEMPHIS TN 38119
618 N MAIN ST JACKSBORO TX 76458
801 TURKEY CREEK TRL BRIDGEPORT TX 76426
1000 W MAIN ST HALLSVILLE TX 75650
605 E US HIGHWAY 80 WHITE OAK TX 75693

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