Damark Announces The Appointment of New Marketing Vice Presidents.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 1999-- DAMARK International, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMRK) said today that it has appointed two new vice presidents to its recently realigned business units - the Membership Services Group and the Catalog Group. The appointments are effective immediately.

Michael T. McGowan, 35, has been promoted to Vice President - Membership Services reporting directly to George S. Richards, DAMARK's President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. McGowan has been with the Company since 1995 and most recently served as Director - Membership Marketing. He will be responsible for membership program design activities, partnership sales efforts and DAMARK's membership marketing efforts to the DAMARK customer file. He also will have responsibility for marketing to the customers of DAMARK's clients in the consumer marketing industry.

In the Catalog Group, Michael T. Del Viscio, 50, has joined DAMARK as Vice President - Merchandising and reports to Andrew J. Franzoni, DAMARK's Senior Vice President, Marketing - Catalog Group. Mr. Del Viscio will have responsibility for all catalog-merchandising functions for DAMARK's core catalog business as well as all private-label catalog businesses.

"We continue to strengthen DAMARK's management team by adding talented executives with a track record of adding to both top and bottom line performance," said Richards. "Mr. Del Viscio's thirty years of diverse merchandising and management experience will be central to achieving our strategic objectives of revitalizing our core catalog formula and launching new formulae. Also, Mr. McGowan's proven contributions to the Company's membership services business have been significant over the past several years, and I am looking forward to future contributions in his expanded role."

Mr. McGowan joined DAMARK in November 1995 and has served as Director - Membership Marketing since November 1996. Prior to joining DAMARK, Mr. McGowan was with Montgomery Ward Direct for six years, most recently as Manager - Catalog Marketing and prior to that he was with the analytical department at Fingerhut Companies, Inc. for six years.

Mr. Del Viscio joins DAMARK from Head to Toe, a division of ACI Capital, Freehold NJ, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to 1997, Mr. Del Viscio was Senior Vice President of The Penn Traffic Company, Syracuse, NY and Senior Vice President at Montgomery Ward Direct prior to that time. Throughout his career, Mr. Del Viscio served in various executive and management positions with department store and specialty retailers.

DAMARK International, Inc., a marketing solutions provider, brings a broad range of products, programs and services to consumers through direct mail, telesales and the Internet. DAMARK uses targeted, information-based strategies and makes offers to consumers for its own account as well as for the accounts of its corporate clients. The Company develops, markets and manages membership programs that provide purchase price discounts and other consumer-related benefits in the areas of shopping, travel, hospitality, entertainment and health/fitness. As of December 31, 1998, consumers enjoyed benefits provided through over 1.7 million DAMARK memberships. In addition, DAMARK offers brand-name, value-priced merchandise in the categories of computers, home office, electronics, home decor, home improvement and sports/fitness through a variety of catalog titles. Over the last three years ending December 31, 1998, the Company has mailed an annual average of about 150 million catalogs. DAMARK is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1986 and employs approximately 2,000 associates.