Fred's Names John Foley Executive Vice President of Store Operations

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Fred's, Inc. FRED today announced that it has named John Foley as the Company's Executive Vice President of Store Operations, effective October 7, 2015. Mike Holligan, who formerly served in this capacity, will move to an open position of Regional Vice President of Store Operations.

Commenting on the announcement, Jerry Shore, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are excited about the experience that John Foley brings to our company. John's addition will extend the momentum we have developed in store operations and will further strengthen the talent of our management team, one of the key steps we have outlined that will help position Fred's to drive profitability and grow its convenience/pharmacy-centric model. We are grateful for the sacrifices and contributions Mike Holligan has made during this past year in leading all store operations."

Foley brings to Fred's more than 30 years of experience in retail pharmacy chain experience. For the past nine years, he was Corporate Operations Vice President at Walgreen's, responsible for the Eastern Division, which in 2014 accounted for approximately $20 billion in revenue from more than 2,500 retail pharmacies, health care clinics, and specialty pharmacy units. Prior to this role with Walgreen's, Foley served as a District Manager for six years and was a Store Manager for 11 years.

Fred's, Inc. and subsidiaries operate 661 discount general merchandise stores and three specialty pharmacy-only locations in 15 states in the southeastern United States. Included in the store count are 19 franchised locations. Also, there are 384 full service pharmacy departments located within the Company's stores. For more information about the Company, visit Fred's website at www.fredsinc.com.

Comments in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements 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," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "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. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those associated with the Company's announced strategic plan, the ultimate terms of the reworked pharmacy distribution agreement, lease buyouts and the underlying assumptions and projections upon which they are based, as well as risks that intended results may not be achieved or may not occur as quickly as expected; the success of announced acquisition activities and future growth trends in businesses acquired; general economic trends; changes in consumer demand or purchase patterns; delays or interruptions in the flow of merchandise between the Company's distribution centers and its stores or between the Company's suppliers and same; a disruption in the Company's data processing services; costs and delays in acquiring or developing new store sites; and 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. Fred's 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.

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