PriceSmart
Announces Appointment of Jose Luis Laparte as
Chief
Executive Officer of the Company
San Diego, CA
(July 13,
2010) – PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) today announced
that on July 12, 2010 Jose Luis Laparte, President of the Company, was appointed
by the Company’s Board of Directors to be Chief Executive Officer and President
of the Company. Robert Price, Chairman of the Board and formerly Chief
Executive Officer of the Company, will remain Chairman of the Company’s Board
of Directors.
Commenting on this appointment by the Board
Mr. Price stated: “Jose Luis Laparte has demonstrated excellent operational and
merchandising skills since he joined our Company in 2004. Under his leadership
as President net warehouse sales have more than doubled from $605 million in
fiscal year 2005 to over $1.3 billion in the most recent 12 month period. Similarly operating income,
which was a loss of $5.4 million in fiscal year 2004 just prior to Jose Luis
joining the Company, now stands at $66.6 million for the 12 months ending May
31, 2010. Jose Luis’ promotion to Chief Executive Officer and President
is very well earned and deserved and I look forward to continuing to work
closely with Jose Luis on behalf of our stockholders, members and employees.”
About
PriceSmart
PriceSmart,
headquartered in
This
press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the Company's
anticipated future revenues and earnings, adequacy of future cash flow and
related matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, statements containing the words “expect,” “believe,” “will,”
“may,” “should,” “project,” “estimate,” “scheduled,” and like expressions, and
the negative thereof. These statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including
the following risks: the Company’s financial performance is dependent on
international operations which exposes the Company to various risks; any
failure by the Company to manage its widely dispersed operations could
adversely affect the Company’s business; the Company faces difficulties in the
shipment of and inherent risks in the acquisition and importation of
merchandise to its warehouse clubs; the Company is exposed to weather and other
natural disaster risks associated with international operations; declines in
the economies of the countries in which the Company operates its warehouse
clubs would harm its business; a few of the Company's stockholders own nearly
40% of the Company's voting stock, which may make it difficult to complete some
corporate transactions without their support and may impede a change in
control; the loss of key personnel could harm the Company’s business; the
Company is subject to volatility in foreign currency exchange; the Company
faces the risk of exposure to product liability claims, a product recall and
adverse publicity; a determination that the Company's long-lived or intangible
assets have been impaired could adversely affect the Company's future results
of operations and financial position; and the Company faces increased
compliance risks associated with compliance with Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; as well as the other risks detailed in the
Company's SEC reports, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on November 9,
2009. We assume no obligation and expressly disclaim any duty to
update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this presentation or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
For
further information, please contact Robert E. Price, Principal Executive
Officer (858) 551-2336; or John M. Heffner, Executive Vice President and
Principal Financial Officer (858) 404-8826.