Standard & Poor's Announces Change to U.S. Index

NEW YORK, March 18  /PRNewswire/ -- Perry Ellis International Inc. (NASDAQ:PERY) will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Thursday, March 20, 2008. PERY will take the place of Bell Microproducts Inc. (NASDAQ:BELM), which was removed from the S&P SmallCap 600 after today's close of trading due its failure to comply with NASD listing requirements.

Standard & Poor's will monitor this transaction, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/.

Perry Ellis International is an apparel company that engages in the designing, sourcing, marketing, and licensing of apparel products in the United States and internationally.  Headquartered in Miami, FL, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods Sub-Industry index.

  Following is a summary of the change:



                 S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - March 20, 2008

           COMPANY            GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR   GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

  ADDED    Perry Ellis        Consumer               Apparel, Accessories &
           International      Discretionary          Luxury Goods






Additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the companies concerned.

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DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's



CONTACT:  David M. Blitzer, Ph.D.

Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee

[phone] 



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http://www.standardandpoors.com/ 

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