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Exhibit 99.1
For Information, Contact:
Company Contact: Investor Relations Contact:
Jeffrey Unger Suzanne Rosenberg/Ankit Goyal
561-672-4713 Morgen-Walke Associates
212-850-5600
DESIGNS, INC. ANNOUNCES COMPLETION
OF CASUAL MALE ACQUISITION
NEEDHAM, MA - MAY 15, 2002 - DESIGNS, INC. (NASDAQ - DESI), retail brand
operator of LEVI'S(R) OUTLET BY DESIGNS, DOCKERS(R) OUTLET BY DESIGNS,
CANDIES(R) and ECKO UNLTD. outlet stores, announced today the completion of its
acquisition of Casual Male Corp. and certain subsidiaries ("Casual Male"), a
leading specialty retailer of fashion, casual and dress apparel for big and tall
men.
On May 1, 2002, the Company was selected as the highest and best bidder at the
Bankruptcy Court ordered auction to purchase substantially all of the assets of
Casual Male. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
subsequently granted its approval to Designs, Inc. for the $170 million
acquisition of Casual Male on May 7, 2002.
Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, the Company will acquire
substantially all of Casual Male's assets including, but not limited to, the
inventory and fixed assets of approximately 475 retail store locations and
various intellectual property. In addition, the Company will also assume certain
operating liabilities, including but limited to, existing retail store lease
arrangements and the existing mortgage for Casual Male's corporate office, which
is located in Canton, Massachusetts.
The Company will fund the $170.0 million acquisition through a combination of
new equity and debt. The Company will issue approximately $80 million of common
and preferred stock (equivalent to approximately 19 million common shares,
assuming shareholder approval for conversion of preferred stock), and
approximately $36 million in senior subordinated debt (including warrants for
approximately 2.5 million common shares, subject in part to shareholder
approval), and borrow approximately $15 million through a three-year term loan
with Back Bay Capital Funding, LLC, and the assumption of an existing $12.2
million mortgage note. The remainder of the acquisition will be funded from the
Company's amended senior secured revolving credit agreement with the Company's
bank, Fleet Retail Finance, Inc.
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Seymour Holtzman, Chairman of Designs, said, "Although we first expressed an
interest in acquiring Casual Male six months ago, we were not able to commence
our due diligence and fund raising efforts until March 21, 2002. Since the
Bankruptcy Court set a deadline of April 27, 2002 for submitting a competing
offer with a 10% required deposit, this was an immense task. This was an
extraordinary undertaking and is a great tribute to the senior management of
Designs, Inc."
David Levin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Designs, stated, "We are
very excited about our acquisition of Casual Male and its contribution to our
future growth strategy. Casual Male is an excellent brand and continues to be
the leader in the specialty retail market of big and tall men apparel. The
similarity of Casual Male's business to ours, that is, retailers of branded
apparel, make this an excellent combination for us. We believe Casual Male's
leading market position, along with Designs' efficient operating capabilities,
will produce a very profitable combination and that the performance of the
combined company will be beneficial to our shareholders"
Dennis R. Hernreich, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of
Designs, added, "This acquisition is expected to increase our total annualized
revenue to in excess of $500 million. During the prior two fiscal years, Designs
and Casual Male, between then, reported sales totaling approximately $556.3
million in FY 2001 and $602.5 million in FY 2000 and earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") totaling approximately $29.4
million in FY 2001 and $48.4 million in FY 2000. During FY 2001 Casual Male
entered bankruptcy and was operating as debtor-in-possession for most of the
year. Also, because of the synergies between these businesses, we expect that
there will be substantial cost savings that we will be able to realize. Over the
past year, Casual Male has already taken several significant steps to improving
its operations by closing approximately 130 of its unprofitable stores, cleaning
up its merchandise inventories and relocating its e-commerce and direct mail
operations to its corporate headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts. During the
balance of this fiscal year we will be in transition of combining the two
operations, planning for significant systems enhancements at Casual Male and
otherwise executing plans to realize the synergies over the next couple of
years"
Designs, Inc. plans to report first quarter results on Thursday, May 23, 2002.
The Company will host a conference call on that date to be broadcast live via
webcast at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants can access the webcast via the
Company's website: www.designsinc.com. An archive of the webcast will be
available one hour after the live call has taken place and through May 30, 2002.
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ABOUT DESIGNS, INC.
Designs, Inc. operates 105 Levi's(R) Outlet by Designs, Dockers(R) Outlet by
Designs and Candie's(R) outlet stores primarily in the Eastern part of the
United States and in Puerto Rico. The Company is headquartered in Needham,
Massachusetts and its common stock is listed on the Nasdaq National Market under
the symbol "DESI". Investor Relations information is available on the Company's
web site at www.designsinc.com
ABOUT CASUAL MALE
Casual Male is a leading independent specialty retailer of fashion, casual and
dress apparel for big and tall men with annual sales that exceed $350 million.
Casual Male sells its branded merchandise through various channels of
distribution including full price and outlet retail stores, direct mail and the
internet. Casual Male had been operating under the protection of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court since May 2001.
THE DISCUSSION OF FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION REQUIRES MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
TO MAKE CERTAIN ESTIMATES AND ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING THE COMPANY'S STRATEGIC
DIRECTION AND THE EFFECT OF SUCH PLANS ON THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL RESULTS. THE
COMPANY'S ACTUAL RESULTS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS PLANS AND OPERATIONS MAY
DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS MADE BY THE COMPANY. THE
COMPANY ENCOURAGES READERS OF FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONCERNING THE COMPANY
TO REFER TO ITS PRIOR FILINGS WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION THAT
SET FORTH-CERTAIN RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT MAY HAVE AN IMPACT ON FUTURE
RESULTS AND DIRECTION OF THE COMPANY. THE COMPANY DOES NOT REPORT ON ITS
PROGRESS DURING A QUARTER UNTIL AFTER THE QUARTER HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND
APPROPRIATELY DISCLOSED ITS RESULTS.