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Friedman's Chairman to Step Down
Peter Thorner Elected Vice Chairman
SAVANNAH, Ga., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Friedman's Inc.
(OTC:FRDM.PK), the Value Leader in fine jewelry retailing, today announced that
Allan Edwards will step down from his position as an officer, Executive
Chairman, at the end of his term in January, 2005. Friedman's also announced
that the Board of Directors has selected Peter Thorner to serve in the newly
created position of Vice Chairman of the Board. Mr. Thorner has been a member
of the Board since October, 2004.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020215/FRIEDMANLOGO )
Mr. Edwards came to Friedman's in May, 2004 in the midst of government
investigations and numerous business challenges. During the seven months Mr.
Edwards has served as Chairman, the Company has undergone significant changes,
including hiring new management, refinancing the Company's credit facility, and
the development of a trade creditor support program. In addition, Mr. Edwards
has led a restructuring of Friedman's Board in recent months. Including Mr.
Edwards and a Class A director, six out of seven directors have been newly
appointed to Friedman's Board, a majority of which is independent.
Mr. Edwards said, "Important progress has been made in assembling new
management at Friedman's. I feel that the Company has made significant strides
and that I can now step back from the Executive Chairman position with the
knowledge that we have senior management in place to move the Company forward."
"Allan has absolutely devoted himself to Friedman's over the past several
months," said Sheldon Whitehouse of Friedman's Board of Directors. "He has
assembled a high-quality board and management and has jump-started the process
of rebuilding Friedman's credibility. I think Allan deserves a great deal of
credit for leading Friedman's in the right direction," added Mr. Whitehouse.
The Company said that it plans to actively seek a new Chairman.
Separately, Friedman's also announced the following changes to its senior
management team:
-- Effective December 10, 2004, Richard Hettlinger will no longer be
serving as Chief Financial Officer of Friedman's.
-- Ken Maher has been named interim CFO of Friedman's effective December
13, 2004. Mr. Maher brings over twenty years of retail and financial
experience to Friedman's. He most recently served as Vice President
and Controller of Wickes Furniture, a furniture distribution and
retailing company.
-- Steve Zeringue has joined Friedman's as Vice President of Credit. Mr.
Zeringue is a credit specialist with over 15 years of retail credit and
financial experience. He joins Friedman's from Certegy Payment
Recovery Services, where he was Vice President of Collections. Prior
to Certegy, Mr. Zeringue served as Director of Credit Risk for Heilig
Meyers Furniture and Assistant Vice President of Credit for Service
Merchandise.
About Friedman's
Founded in 1920, Friedman's Inc. is a leading specialty retailer based in
Savannah, Georgia. The Company is the leading operator of fine jewelry stores
located in power strip centers and regional malls. For more information, go
to: http://www.friedmans.com/ .
Some of the statements included in this press release, particularly those
anticipating future financial performance, business prospects, growth and
operating strategies, the obtaining of additional financing and similar
matters, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and a variety of factors could cause the Company's actual results
to differ materially from the anticipated or expected results expressed in
these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise any such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements, the Company's liquidity, capital resources, ability to obtain
additional financing and results of operations are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the following: adverse
effects from the Company's delay in paying suppliers and from suppliers not
delivering merchandise; the ability of the Company to comply with the terms of
its credit facility; the ability of the Company to satisfy all conditions
precedent, including due diligence requirements, to any proposed additional
financing; the continued support of the Company's vendors in a vendor support
program; potential adverse developments with respect to the Company's liquidity
and/or results of operations; competitive pressures from other retailers;
trends in the economy as a whole which may affect consumer confidence and
consumer demand for the types of goods sold by the Company; the ability of the
Company to attract, retain and compensate key executives and associates; the
ability of the Company to attract and retain customers; potential adverse
publicity; the ability of the Company to achieve the cost savings and
operational benefits projected from its planned store closings; the final
results of the audit including the review of the calculation of our allowance
for doubtful accounts and any recordation of impairment charges; the results of
the SEC and Justice Department investigations; the results of various
litigation; the effect of the restatement on our credit facilities, including
funding availability thereunder and our relationship with our lenders; the
effect of the restatement on our future earnings, including any adjustments to
previously announced earnings forecasts; and other risk factors identified from
time to time in our SEC reports, including, but not limited to, the report on
Form 10-K for the year ended September 28, 2002.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020215/FRIEDMANLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
DATASOURCE: Friedman's Inc.
CONTACT: Jane D'Arcy of Trion Communications, +1-401-453-3100, ext. 104,
Web site: http://www.friedmans.com/