EXHIBIT 99.1
[WHITEHALL JEWELLERS, INC. LOGO]
NEWS RELEASE
For: Whitehall Jewellers, Inc.
Contact: John R. Desjardins
Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TX: 312/762-9751
WHITEHALL JEWELLERS NAMES DEBBIE NICODEMUS-VOLKER
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MERCHANDISE
SEASONED JEWELRY, RETAIL AND MERCHANDISING EXECUTIVE
JOINS FROM DUTY FREE SHOPPERS AND DONNA KARAN
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, JUNE 2, 2004 -- Whitehall Jewellers, Inc. (NYSE:JWL) today
announced that Debbie Nicodemus-Volker, a merchandising executive with more than
25 years experience in the retail industry, has joined the Company as Executive
Vice President of Merchandise. Ms. Nicodemus-Volker will report to Hugh
Patinkin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Ms. Nicodemus-Volker joins Whitehall after a 14 year tenure with Duty Free
Shoppers ("DFS"). Most recently she was Vice President of Merchandising and
Planning for Donna Karan International, based in New York. Donna Karan
International and DFS are divisions of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey. Ms.
Nicodemus-Volker has many years of experience in merchandising and marketing for
fine jewelry categories. At DFS, Ms. Nicodemus-Volker was Vice President for
Merchandise Planning and Procurement for European Brands, including
responsibility for fine jewelry and watches. For the six years before that, Ms.
Nicodemus-Volker was Vice President merchandising fine jewelry at DFS.
"Debbie's impressive track record in jewelry, branding and the development of
market leading merchandising systems make her a strong fit with our business,"
said Hugh Patinkin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Whitehall Jewellers.
"We are very pleased to welcome Debbie to the Whitehall team, and look forward
to her contributions as we continue to strengthen our existing brands. I am
particularly pleased that Debbie joins us at a time of the year that permits her
to have a significant impact on our important Christmas selling season."
"This is a unique opportunity for me to join a company with talented people and
significant growth potential," said Ms. Nicodemus-Volker. "I'm enthusiastic
about working with Hugh and the rest of the Whitehall team to enhance our
merchandising relationships and further invigorate our marketing efforts."
Ms. Nicodemus-Volker has extensive retail experience, including many years as a
merchant for gold, pearl and diamond jewelry. Ms. Nicodemus-Volker has spent her
entire career in retail merchandising endeavors with over 20 years experience in
the jewelry industry working at Duty Free Shoppers, Zale, and Macy's.
Additionally, Ms. Nicodemus-Volker, has also served as a consultant to several
specialty jewelry companies.
Ms. Nicodemus-Volker holds a Bachelor of Science, Merchandising degree from
Arizona State University.
ABOUT WHITEHALL JEWELLERS
Whitehall Jewellers, Inc. is a leading national specialty retailer of
fine jewelry, currently operating 386 stores in 38 states. The Company operates
stores in regional and superregional shopping malls under the names Whitehall
Co. Jewellers, Lundstrom Jewelers and Marks Bros. Jewelers.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements (as such term is
defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) and information relating to the Company that
are based on the current beliefs of management of the Company as well as
assumptions made by and information currently available to management including
statements related to the markets for our products, general trends and trends in
our operations or financial results, plans, expectations, estimates and beliefs.
In addition, when used in this release, the words "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "predict" and similar expressions and
their variants, as they relate to the Company or our management, may identify
forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect our judgment as of the date
of this release with respect to future events, the outcome of which is subject
to certain risks, including the factors described below, which may have a
significant impact on our business, operating results or financial condition.
Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are inherently
uncertain. 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. Whitehall Jewellers undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements. The following factors, among
others, may impact forward-looking statements contained in this release: (1) a
change in economic conditions or the financial markets which negatively impacts
the retail sales environment and reduces discretionary spending on goods such as
jewelry; (2) reduced levels of mall traffic caused by economic or other factors;
(3) our ability to execute our business strategy and the related effects on
comparable store sales and other results; (4) the extent and results of our
store expansion strategy and associated occupancy costs, and access to funds for
new store openings; (5) the high degree of fourth quarter seasonality of our
business; (6) the extent and success of our marketing and promotional programs;
(7) personnel costs and the extent to which we are able to retain and attract
key personnel; (8) the effects of competition; (9) the availability and cost of
consumer credit; (10) relationships with suppliers; (11) our ability to maintain
adequate information systems capacity and infrastructure; (12) our leverage and
cost of funds and changes in interest rates that may increase such costs; (13)
our ability to maintain adequate loss prevention measures; (14) fluctuations in
raw material prices, including diamond, gem and gold prices; (15) developments
relating to the consolidated Capital Factors actions and the related SEC and
U.S. Attorney's office investigations, and shareholder and other civil
litigation including the impact of such developments on our results of
operations and financial condition and relationship with our lenders or with our
vendors; (16) regulation affecting the industry generally, including regulation
of marketing practices; (17) the successful integration of acquired locations
and assets into our existing operations; and (18) the risk factors identified
from time to time in our filings with the SEC.
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