Samuels Jewelers Inc. Announces Purchase of Stores
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2000--Samuels Jewelers Inc. (OTCBB:SMJW)) announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase substantially all the assets, excluding inventory, of Musselman Jewelers. The purchase includes the lease rights, fixtures and related intangibles of Musselman Jewelers, but not the inventory, which has been sold in a separate transaction. A total of 14 retail jewelry stores located primarily in Pennsylvania have been acquired subject to landlord approval. The stores are in regional malls and are expected to open as Samuels Jewelers by February 2000.
Randy N. McCullough, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said, "I am excited about this acquisition for several reasons, not the least of which is that with this acquisition comes a trained and knowledgeable staff of jewelry experts. Additionally, Samuels enters central Pennsylvania with a tremendous presence in key malls, we also establish a presence in the Tidewater Area of Virginia, and increase our presence in West Virginia. More importantly, we have in place managers that are deeply rooted in their communities. I look forward to working with these managers and associates to develop these stores into the best jewelry stores in their malls."
Commenting on the impact of the transaction, McCullough stated, "We feel confident that bringing Samuels' merchandising and marketing strengths as well as the introduction of our private-label credit program to these stores will generate an increase in revenues. This acquisition continues our efforts to bring operating efficiencies from our centralized home office and furthers the expansion of the Samuels name.
With the completion of this transaction, Samuels Jewelers Inc. expects to operate 196 stores in 27 states selling fine jewelry and watches and doing business as Samuels Jewelers, Samuels Diamonds, Schubach Jewelers, C & H Rauch Jewelers and Hart's Jewelers. |
