Cornerstone Brands, Inc. Secures $50 Million Line of Credit from Wells Fargo Retail Finance; Catalog Holding Company Plans U.S. Expansion with Financing.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2001

Retail asset-based lender Wells Fargo Retail Finance, LLC, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), today announced that it will provide a $50 million line of credit to Cornerstone Brands, Inc., a multi-brand name catalog holding company.

"Our ultimate goal is to be the leading family of catalog brands," said John Schaefer, Chief Financial Officer, Cornerstone Brands, Inc. "Our continued expansion in the catalog marketplace is contingent on delivering high quality home, leisure and casual apparel to discerning customers. As our lending partner, Wells Fargo Retail Finance understands our goals and has provided us with the flexibility and support necessary for us to establish dominance in the catalog industry."

Founded in 1995, Cornerstone's mission has been to acquire leading catalog companies in the home, leisure and apparel areas. Cornerstone's founders recognized a shift in consumers' shopping preferences, where lack of time and a desire for better service were propelling people into the pages of lifestyle catalogs and the Internet to do their shopping.

Cornerstone has developed an aggressive growth strategy, focusing on stabilization in 2001, initiating internal growth for 2002 and acquiring more catalog brands in 2003. In offering distinctive, high-quality merchandise and superior customer service to its customers, Cornerstone's brands have created an unparalleled customer loyalty.

"Cornerstone is well-positioned to become a leader in the catalog industry," said Wells Fargo Retail Finance, LLC Senior Managing Director and Co-COO Andrew H. Moser. "We're happy to provide a flexible line of credit to assist in its short and long-term growth and expansion objectives."

Each one of Cornerstone's brands services customers who desire distinctive brand names. Led by talented management teams, these brands offer opportunities for expansion and consistently meet customer demands. Cornerstone's brands include: Ballard Designs, a provider of European-inspired furniture and antique reproductions; Frontgate, which markets home goods; Garnet Hill, a leading provider of bed and bath products and women's and children's clothing; Smith + Noble, a leading resource for custom window treatments; The Territory Ahead, an original designer of travel clothing; TravelSmith, a leading provider of premium performance travel gear.

Wells Fargo Retail Finance LLC

Based in Boston with additional offices located in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, Wells Fargo Retail Finance, LLC brings more than 25 years of experience in providing working capital to retailers, and more than 150 years of collective experience as merchants, retail operators, and financial executives. Today, the company, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, has more than $1.9 billion in loan commitments to retailers throughout North America.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified financial services company with $290 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance from more than 5,400 stores and the Internet (www.wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere internationally.