Friedman's Receives Supplemental Wells Notice From SEC Regarding Deregistration of its Shares SAVANNAH, Ga., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Friedman's Inc. (OTC:FRDM.PK), the Value Leader in fine jewelry retailing, today announced that it has received a supplemental Wells Notice from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission advising it that the staff is considering recommending that the SEC authorize public administrative proceedings to determine whether the registration of Friedman's shares should be revoked or suspended. Friedman's will be filing a copy of the supplemental Wells Notice on a Form 8-K. In the event that registration of Friedman's shares is suspended or revoked, the shares will no longer trade on the Pink Sheets. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020215/FRIEDMANLOGO ) Friedman's has been fully cooperating with the SEC and the DOJ in their ongoing investigations of Friedman's and intends to continue to do so. About Friedman's Founded in 1920, Friedman's Inc. is a leading specialty retailer based in Savannah, Georgia. The Company is the leading operator of fine jewelry stores located in power strip centers and regional malls. For more information, go to: http://www.friedmans.com/ . Some of the statements included in this press release, particularly those anticipating future financial performance, business prospects, growth and operating strategies, and similar matters, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and a variety of factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the anticipated or expected results expressed in these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements, the Company's liquidity, capital resources, and results of operations are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the following: adverse effects from the Company's delay in paying suppliers and from suppliers not delivering merchandise; the ability of the Company to comply with the terms of its credit facility; the continued support of the Company's vendors under its secured trade credit program; potential adverse developments with respect to the Company's liquidity and/or results of operations; competitive pressures from other retailers; trends in the economy as a whole which may affect consumer confidence and consumer demand for the types of goods sold by the Company; the ability of the Company to attract, retain and compensate key executives and associates; the ability of the Company to attract and retain customers; potential adverse publicity; the ability of the Company to achieve the cost savings and operational benefits projected from its planned store closings; the final results of the audit including the review of the calculation of our allowance for doubtful accounts and any recordation of impairment charges; the results of the SEC and Justice Department investigations and any actions taken by such governmental authorities, including any deregistration of the Company's shares; the results of various litigation; the effect of the restatement on our future earnings, including any adjustments to previously announced earnings forecasts; and other risk factors identified from time to time in our SEC reports, including, but not limited to, the report on Form 10- K for the year ended September 28, 2002. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020215/FRIEDMANLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Friedman's Inc. CONTACT: Jane D'Arcy of Trion Communications for Friedman's Inc., +1-401-453-3100 ext. 104, or Web site: http://www.friedmans.com/

Copyright