Books-A-Million Announces New Store Opening in Port Richey, Florida.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1997-- Books-A-Million, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM: BAMM) today announced the opening of a new superstore location in Port Richey, Fla. The 19,250 square- foot bookstore will be located in the Embassy Crossing Shopping Center on U.S. Highway 19 North.

Books-A-Million is a savvy discount operator which has made its mark on the book-selling industry by challenging the myth that bookstores should be quiet and reserved places of refined elegance. Instead, Books-A-Million operates with the philosophy that, first and foremost, a bookstore should be a fun and exciting place for customers to shop and enjoy themselves, and that by also offering customers a better value for their dollar, a bookstore can be a place of entertainment for the whole family. This philosophy has made Books-A-Million the industry leader in developing innovative store layouts designed to stimulate the senses and make book buying fun and approachable for customers of all ages and lifestyles.

"We have a saying at Books-A-Million that there's no whispering allowed," said Clyde Anderson, the company's President and CEO. "We want people to feel free to enjoy themselves. We're not just selling books, we're selling fun and entertainment. Our stores exhibit a real sense of theater and our associates are really at the heart of that feeling. We hire people who love books and are enthusiastic about sharing their love of books with others."

Each superstore location offers an incredibly wide selection of books, magazines, greeting cards, gifts and more at discount prices everyday. The core offering includes hundreds of thousands of current book titles including thousands of bargain books, over 3,000 magazine and newspaper titles and much more.

Books-A-Million enhances value through its Millionaire's Club customer loyalty program. By purchasing a Millionaire's Club card, customers are offered an additional 10% off every item in the store for a whole year. This means Millionaire's Club members are able to buy Books-A-Million's Top 10 hardcover bestsellers at 40% off everyday, and the Top 10 paperback bestsellers at 25% off everyday, and are able to find discounts of up to 80% off bargain books. The value of the card is further enhanced by special mailings which alert club members to unique offerings or additional savings.

To reinforce the approachable atmosphere of fun and interactivity, each Books-A-Million superstore is designed with a collection of shop-like environments surrounding the vast core offering of books and bargain book tables.

Among these shop environments is Joe Muggs, a coffee bar with an atmosphere based on the imaginary life of Joe Muggs, an explorer and pilot who has traveled the world in search of great coffee and adventure. The cafe features whole bean gourmet coffees, scrumptious, thick home-made cookies and other delicious foods.

Kids-A-Million is designed to surround kids with an interactive, bright environment that makes reading fun. The emphasis is on creating kid-style experiences with live storytelling, kid-friendly furniture and accessible shelving loaded with hundreds of colorful books to delight even the smallest reader.

The magazine and newspaper environment dominates the entire back wall of the superstores with an enormous number of newspaper and magazine titles. Simply put, Books-A-Million offers customers the most comprehensive collection of periodicals found anywhere.

There is also a complete Hallmark Greeting Card store inside Books-A-Million featuring a full line of greeting cards, gift wraps and more.

Book tours, author signings, live musical performances, poetry readings, coffee tastings, kids storytime theater--they all are commonplace activities at Books-A-Million. "We know people can spend their hard-earned entertainment dollars in any number of venues," said Mr. Anderson, "so we have made a commitment that we will not be undersold and we will not be outperformed. This means we hold our associates to the highest standards in the industry, and they perform brilliantly."

With the fun and enthusiasm every new Books-A-Million store generates, it's little surprise that the company is one of the fastest growing booksellers in the nation with 98 Books-A-Million superstores, and 60 Bookland mall locations with another 13 locations planned to open this year, which marks the company's 80th anniversary. "Our advertising theme is that we wrote the book on low prices," said Mr. Anderson, "and we're out to prove that we can also write the book on fun at the same time."

CONTACT: Books-A-Million

Leigh M. Laser, 205/942-3737