MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Fred’s Inc. (“Fred’s Pharmacy” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:FRED) today announced three additions to its senior management team. Gregory Froton has been appointed Senior Vice President, Merchandising, General Merchandise and Kimberley Felice-Dooley has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Merchandising - Consumables, both effective immediately. These appointments follow the recent appointment in December 2016 of Steve Wuebker as Senior Vice President, Supply Chain.

Michael K. Bloom, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are thrilled to have Greg, Kimberley, and Steve join Fred’s Pharmacy. Their extensive retail pharmacy experience and knowledge of our industry make them valuable additions to the leadership team in areas critical to our business. As we continue to focus on strengthening our world-class team, Fred’s is well-positioned to execute our transformational strategy, accelerate growth, and enhance our value proposition for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”

Bloom continued, “Gregory brings to the Company an impressive track record of producing innovative merchandise and customer focused solutions to drive sales and margin. Steve is a leading global operations executive with expertise in all aspects of operations management, including strategy, FP&A, and large-scale business transformation project management, and he has already proven an effective and valuable member of the Fred’s Pharmacy team since his appointment a few months ago. Additionally, since joining Fred’s Pharmacy in July 2016, Kimberley has contributed her extensive retail experience and will continue to be a vital component to our consumables growth going forward. I look forward to continuing to work closely with these highly qualified individuals as we implement upgrades to our infrastructure and continue the optimization of our business.”

Gregory Froton

Mr. Froton brings over 30 years retail experience to Fred’s Pharmacy.  His merchandising expertise and knowledge spans over multiple retail channels including drug, mass, department and specialty formats.  Mr. Froton worked for CVS Health for over 17 years holding the positions of Category Manager, Divisional Merchandising Manager, and most recently was Vice President General Merchandise and International Sourcing.

Mr. Froton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College.

Kimberley Felice-Dooley

Ms. Felice-Dooley has held various leadership positions with CVS from 2006 until 2016, including Director of Category Management Skincare & Fragrance and Director of Category Management Candy. Prior to joining CVS in 2006, Ms. Felice-Dooley served in varying capacities at Federated Department Stores, beginning in 1997.

Ms. Felice-Dooley studied Textiles, Merchandising and Design at the University of Rhode Island and Interior Design at Mount Ida College.

Steve Wuebker

Mr. Wuebker most recently served as President and CEO of Prospect Brands. Prior, Mr. Wuebker held positions with Ralph Lauren Corporation from 2006 to 2015, including Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain. Mr. Wuebker also has experience with Gap, Inc., Toys ‘R Us, and PepsiCo.

Mr. Wuebker holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati and Masters degrees from George Washington University and Cranfield University.

About Fred's Pharmacy

Fred's Pharmacy and its subsidiaries operate 647 discount general merchandise stores and three specialty pharmacy-only locations in 15 states in the southeastern United States. Included in the store count are 18 franchised locations. Also, there are 371 full service pharmacy departments located within Fred's stores, including four franchised locations. For more information about the Company, visit Fred's website at www.fredsinc.com.

Forward Looking Statements

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 success of announced acquisition activities and future growth trends in businesses acquired; general economic trends; risks related to the possibility that the transactions may not close, including because one or more closing conditions to the transactions, including certain regulatory approvals, may not be satisfied or waived, on a timely basis or otherwise, including that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the transactions, or may require conditions, limitations or restrictions in connection with such approvals; the risk that the businesses and acquired stores, as applicable, will not be integrated successfully; the risk of litigation and/or regulatory actions related to the proposed transaction; 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; cyber-security threats; 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.

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