California Success Story Pacific Eyes & T's and Innovative Retail Lender Paragon Capital Complete $10 Million Financing Agreement.

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 1999--Sixteen years ago, Pacific Eyes & T's founder and President Dan Goodman stood behind the counter of his first store, awaiting his first customer. He had poured his heart and virtually every last dime into the prototype sunglasses and T-shirt shop.

The customers came, and they continue to come. Today, Paragon Capital LLC announced that it will provide $10 million in growth financing to Pacific Eyes & T's and its companion Beyond The Beach stores, which have become one of San Diego's largest and most successful homegrown retailers.

Now a 37-store chain with locations in four states, Pacific Eyes & T's offers a full line of sunglasses and casual, youth-oriented men's and women's fashions. The company has achieved record-breaking sales recently and continues to expand. Pacific Eyes & T's is currently in negotiations to open new stores in Southern California and other parts of the Southwest.

In the meantime, the company has become closely identified with the California culture. It is on the leading edge of the hugely popular surf and skate look by offering sunglasses and apparel from the top brand names, as well as its own exclusive lines.

"Dan Goodman has captured the lifestyle and preferences of his customers in an enterprise that he loves," said Andrew Moser, Paragon Capital President & COO. "In the process he has developed a unique retail concept that can be successful throughout the country."

As a new, specialized retail lender, Paragon Capital of Needham, Mass., has built a reputation for helping smaller, cutting-edge retailers that are experiencing some of the fastest growth in the nation. A major part of the draw is that Paragon's management is composed of former retailers, rather than bankers.

"We are entering a new exciting era," Goodman said. "This agreement allows us to evolve and grow our retail concept, emphasizing the casual California lifestyle. We have an extraordinarily high level of trust in Paragon. As specialized retail lenders, they have an understanding of retail that allows them to be flexible and exceptionally responsive."

Founded in 1983, Pacific Eyes & T's operates 37 stores in Southern California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona under the Pacific Eyes & T's and Beyond The Beach names. The company specializes in sunglasses and casual California lifestyle apparel, including shorts, shirts, dresses, tops, swimwear, pants, sweaters, outerwear, hats and footwear. One of the keys to Pacific Eyes & T's' success, according to Goodman, has been its mix of cool, youth-oriented apparel and sunglasses that has broad appeal to older customers, as well as core teens and young adults. The company also designs and sells its own exclusive apparel and sunglasses lines.

Paragon Capital:

Based in Needham, Mass., Paragon Capital is an asset-based lender to retailers throughout North America. Paragon has experienced dramatic growth since it was founded in 1997. The company has far exceeded expectations, completing almost $200 million in new financing with companies like: Learningsmith, Crown Books, The Big Party, Bikes USA, Golf America, Silverman Factory Jewelers, Harvey Electronics and Sun & Ski Sports. One of the main reasons for Paragon's success is that, as retailers and merchants with lending expertise, the management team applies a true merchant's perspective in lending to retailers. As Paragon's business booms, the company is defining a new specialized lending niche and quickly becoming part of leading-edge developments in the retail industry.

Paragon Capital is a partnership between one of America's premier "boutique" asset valuation firms, The Ozer Group LLC of Needham, Mass., and a leader in the asset-based lending industry, Foothill Capital Corporation of Los Angeles. Foothill is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., a $196 billion financial services company. With the backing of Wells Fargo and Foothill, Paragon functions autonomously, as an entrepreneurial company that provides financing solutions to North American companies.