Fred's Reports November Sales

Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) today reported sales for the four-week fiscal month of November and the 10-month year-to-date period ended November 29, 2014.

Fred's total sales for the month increased 2% to $154.3 million from $151.2 million in November 2013. Comparable store sales for the month decreased 2.3% versus flat sales in the same period last year.

Fred's total sales for the year-to-date period increased 2% to $1.620 billion from $1.595 billion for the same period last year. On a comparable store basis, year-to-date sales decreased 1.0% compared with an increase of 1.0% for the year-earlier period.

Commenting on the announcement, Jerry A. Shore, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Comparable store sales for November tracked with the guidance we provided during our third quarter conference call last week. Excluding the impact of our decision to close our stores on Thanksgiving Day, comparable stores sales for the month were approximately flat. The pharmacy department once again had solid performance with comparable store sales and script growth.

"We begin December with our stores in great shape for the holidays, backed by a solid merchandising and operational plan to drive a successful fourth quarter," Shore added. "Momentum is building around the plan we outlined last week for process improvements and coordination of efforts, steps that will help us execute our strategic and operating plans and drive strong returns in 2015."

During November, Fred's opened two full-service store locations and one Xpress location. Fred's also closed two Xpress locations and two franchise stores.

Fred's operates 702 discount general merchandise stores, including 19 franchised Fred's stores, in the southeastern United States. For more information about the Company, visit Fred's website at www.fredsinc.com.

Comments in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. A reader can identify forward-looking statements because they are not limited to historical facts or they use such words as "outlook," guidance," "may," "should," "could," "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "committed," "continue," or "will likely result" and similar expressions that concern the Company's strategy, plans, intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those associated with the Company's announced strategic plan, the ultimate terms of the reworked pharmacy distribution agreement, lease buyouts and the underlying assumptions and projections upon which they are based, as well as risks that intended results may not be achieved or may not occur as quickly as expected; general economic trends; changes in consumer demand or purchase patterns; delays or interruptions in the flow of merchandise between the Company's distribution centers and its stores or between the Company's suppliers and same; a disruption in the Company's data processing services; costs and delays in acquiring or developing new store sites; and the factors listed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly filings on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. Fred's undertakes no obligation to release revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unforeseen events, except as required to be reported under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.