Gottschalks Appoints J. Gregory Ambro as Chief Administrative & Financial Officer.

Gottschalks Inc. today announced that the Company has appointed Mr. J. Gregory Ambro as Chief Administrative & Financial Officer. Mr. Ambro will assume responsibility for finance, information technology and administration for Gottschalks, including financial planning, accounting and reporting. He will report directly to Mr. Jim Famalette, Chief Executive Officer.

Jim Famalette, president and chief executive officer of Gottschalks, said, "We are delighted to welcome Greg to the executive management team of Gottschalks. He brings with him more than 25 years of experience in retail finance to the Company. Greg's strong background in the retail industry, and his work with department stores in particular, will be an asset to Gottschalks. Looking forward, we believe the Company will benefit significantly from Greg's expertise in the areas of finance and banking, corporate governance and real estate."

Prior to joining Gottschalks, Mr. Ambro most recently served for three years as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bradlees, a regional department store chain in the Northeast with 105 stores and annual revenue of $1.5 billion. Prior to this, he held the position of Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration for Streamline.com, a grocery and consumer product Internet retailer. Mr. Ambro also served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration for Harris Teeter Inc., a division of Ruddick Corporation and a leading supermarket chain with 135 stores. He held positions as Director of Strategic Planning, Vice President Real Estate Site Selection, Vice President and Controller and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Marshalls Inc., a division of Melville Corporation and one of the leading, national off-price retailers in the United States. From 1978 to 1991, Mr. Ambro held financial positions of increasing responsibility for divisions of the May Department Stores. Mr. Ambro holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Cincinnati.

About Gottschalks

Gottschalks is a regional department store chain, currently operating sixty-four department stores and eleven specialty stores in six western states, including California (39), Washington (13), Alaska (6), Oregon (2), Nevada (2) and Idaho (2). Gottschalks offers better to moderate brand-name fashion apparel, cosmetics, shoes, accessories and home merchandise. Gottschalks offers corporate information and selected merchandise on the World Wide Web at http://www.gottschalks.com/.

Business Risks and Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involve risks and uncertainties. In some instances, such statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," "projects," "forecasts," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," "continues," "targets," or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of such terms. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the Company's ability to meet debt obligations and adhere to the restrictions and covenants imposed under its various debt agreements; the timely receipt of merchandise and the Company's ability to obtain adequate trade credit from its key factors and vendors; risks arising from general economic and market conditions (including uncertainties arising from acts of terrorism or war); the ability to improve the profitability and cash flows of certain of the stores acquired from Lamonts Apparel, Inc., or to sell, sublease or close these remaining underperforming stores; the ability to modify operations in order to minimize the adverse impact of rising costs, including but not limited to workers' compensation, property and casualty insurance, health care and utilities costs; the effects of seasonality and weather conditions, changing consumer trends and preferences, competition, consumer credit, the Company's dependence on its key personnel and general labor conditions, all of which are described in more detail in Gottschalks' Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Gottschalks with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon management's expectations as of the date of this release, and it should not be assumed that these statements will remain accurate as of any future date. GOTTSCHALKS DOES NOT PRESENTLY INTEND TO UPDATE THESE STATEMENTS AND UNDERTAKES NO DUTY TO ANY PERSON TO EFFECT ANY SUCH UPDATE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

CONTACT: Jim Famalette, Chief Executive Officer of Gottschalks Inc., +1-559-434-4800; or Leigh Parrish or Teresa Thuruthiyil of Financial Dynamics, +1-415-439-4521, for Gottschalks Inc.

Web site: http://www.gottschalks.com/