Gadzooks, a specialty retailer of clothing and accessories for teenagers in the US, on Friday announced plans to reinvent its brand by focusing exclusively on apparel and accessories for females. The conversion to an all-female assortment is schedules for early in the second half of 2003. This move is supposed to strengthen the specialty retailer's ability to effectively compete in a single niche of the market.

"For years Gadzooks has been the store for both males and females to shop for the brands they like best," said Jerry Szczepanski, chairman and chief executive officer. "With all of the competitive changes over the past few years, it is imperative that we now make our specialty store even more 'special' and dedicate all our square footage to fully serve our female customer."

The Company has engaged two of the nation's premier firms in store design and branding to help plan and execute the new brand. FRCH Design Worldwide, which has worked with Disney, Starbucks, Target, and Timberland, will lead the effort to freshen the look of the Gadzooks stores. The Richards Group, the nation's largest independent branding firm, whose clients include The Home Depot, Nokia, and Dr. Marten, will spearhead branding and marketing work.

Dallas-based Gadzooks, Inc. is a mall-based specialty retailer of casual apparel and related accessories for young men and women. The company currently operates 437 Gadzooks stores and 4 Orchid stores, for a total of 441 stores in 41 states.

January 11, 2003
www.gadzooks.com