G.I. Joe's Set to Open Two Flagship Stores in March 2007, the Company's 13th & 14th Washington Stores

WILSONVILLE, Ore., — G.I. Joe’s, the Northwest U.S.- based sports, outdoor & more store announced today the planned opening of two new locations. The Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington stores are each scheduled to open in early Spring 2007, and will both be considered flagship stores due to their size, breadth of selection and wide array of specialty service departments. The Bellevue store will utilize 67,000 sq. ft. of a former Larry’s Supermarket located at 699 120th Ave. NE, and the Kirkland store will utilize 61,000 sq. ft. of a former Larry’s located at 12321 120th Place NE. The buildings will be completely reconfigured and remodeled to accommodate G.I. Joe’s.

G.I. Joe’s President and CEO, Norm Daniels, said, “The Bellevue and Kirkland communities have a demand for sports and outdoor products and services that G.I. Joe’s can fulfill with our unique combination of brand name merchandise, selection and excellent service. The G.I. Joe’s selection makes it possible for the advanced sports and outdoor enthusiast to find the expertise and technical gear they want, yet still allows the recreational or casual outdoor consumer to find what they need and want.”

“We are excited to increase our presence in the region around Puget Sound. With the addition of the Bellevue and Kirkland stores, and the new Bellingham store opening this November, we will have a total of 11 stores in the Puget Sound market. The new store managers will be named later, but in keeping with our emphasis on experience, the positions will each be filled by one of our long-time associates. As flagship stores, the Bellevue and Kirkland locations will employ approximately 70 employees each,” said Daniels.

G.I. Joe’s merchandises its stores into specialized sports and activities, and within those areas uses a specialty shop approach, where needed, to give the consumer the technical information or expertise they need and want. Traditionally, a G.I. Joe’s store is configured in an easy-to-shop ‘racetrack’ pattern around a central core featuring technical, high performance apparel and footwear from famous brands like Mountain Hardwear, The North Face, Columbia Sportswear, Nike and Under Armour.

The new Bellevue and Kirkland G.I. Joe’s stores will each feature a huge fishing and outdoor sports department, including a large marine department serving the needs of the many boat owners in the region. Plus the stores will each have one of the largest ski and board shops in the Pacific Northwest, in addition to a large Sport Services Pro Shop, which will offer ski and snowboard maintenance, tune-up and repair. The Sport Services Shop will also offer equipment rentals for consumers who wish to “try before they buy” — skis and snowboards in winter — canoes, kayaks, water skis and wakeboards in summer.

Consumers will love the incredible selection of high quality roof racks and cargo boxes from Thule and Yakima, with installation available by the highly trained Sport Services technicians. The new stores will offer an incredible array of mountain bikes, exercise equipment, team sports gear, sport watches & sunglasses and much, much more. The new Bellevue and Kirkland flagship stores are sure to be two of the best G.I. Joe’s stores ever.

Daniels concluded, “As a true Northwest company, G.I. Joe’s is really looking forward to the future. Bellingham will be our second new Washington store opening in 2006, the other being Kennewick. We continue to look for markets and locations that will fit our business model, and in fact have plans to open stores next year in Spokane, Washington and Boise, Idaho.”

G.I. Joe’s is a closely held retail chain of 25 full-line ‘sports, outdoor & more’ stores in Oregon and Washington. Known as the store for Northwest outdoor enthusiasts, G. I. Joes, founded in 1952, celebrates 54 years in business in 2006