NEW YORK, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (NYSE: JNY) today announced a management realignment within its wholesale footwear and accessories, company-owned retail apparel and footwear (excluding Barneys New York) and wholesale moderate apparel businesses.

Peter Boneparth, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jones Apparel Group, Inc., stated, "Consistent with the strategic review principles that we have previously communicated, this realignment will provide us the leadership and structure (i) to become a more streamlined and efficient Company through the use of common information technology platforms, (ii) to leverage best practices throughout the organization, (iii) to demonstrate the highest level of consistency and customer service to our wholesale relationships and, (iv) to ensure we continuously deliver a superior quality and value proposition to the millions of consumers that purchase our products."

Effective immediately, the Company announced the following management changes:

• Andrew Cohen has been named to the newly created position of President
• Wholesale Footwear and Accessories, with responsibility for managing and further developing the Company's highly recognizable brand portfolio of footwear, handbags and costume jewelry. Mr. Cohen is an experienced and successful executive in the apparel and footwear industry, and brings superior management skills to the business. Mr. Cohen was previously Group President - l.e.i. and Energie and will report to Rhonda Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, Footwear, Accessories and Retail Group.
• Heather Pech has been named President - Company-Owned Retail Footwear and Apparel. Ms. Pech has a strong merchandising sensibility and will focus on leveraging the Company's infrastructure to grow the retail business. Ms. Pech was previously Chief Executive Officer - Polo Jeans Company and will report to Rhonda Brown.

Ms. Brown commented, "We are very excited to welcome Andy and Heather to our team and to share in their wealth of industry experience. Our Footwear, Accessories and Retail Group has developed a strong brand portfolio covering many price points and categories. By focusing on quality product, customer service and operational execution, we constantly challenge ourselves to surpass our prior achievements. Collectively, Andy, Heather and I each share the common vision of exceeding our customers' expectations."

Mr. Boneparth went on to say, "Andy and Heather each possess the knowledge and leadership to further drive our wholesale footwear and retail businesses, respectively. Working with Rhonda Brown, I am confident they will elevate the identity and profile of our footwear and accessories portfolio."

• Jack Gross has been named Group Chief Executive Officer of all denim and junior businesses. Mr. Gross has a proven track record as an exceptional business leader. In addition, he has been very successful in capturing market share by creating and launching high-quality branded product. We are confident that Mr. Gross will seek to leverage best practices across these businesses to facilitate growth in a variety of denim market niches. Mr. Gross was previously Chief Executive Officer - Gloria Vanderbilt Division and will continue to report to Mr. Boneparth.
• Barry Bates has been appointed Group President - l.e.i. and Energie, and will report to Jack Gross. Mr. Bates joined Jones Apparel Group last year as President - l.e.i. and has a wealth of industry experience, most notably in the junior market. In conjunction with this appointment, Patty Leto is being promoted to President - Energie and will report to Mr. Bates. Ms. Leto was previously Senior Vice President Merchandising - Energie. She has held various senior positions at both Macy's East and Federated Corporate.

Mr. Boneparth commented, "Jack has spearheaded the development of our best performing denim brands and we are excited about the future potential of the portfolio. He, along with Barry and Patty, will look to maximize the performance of the Company's denim and junior businesses."

Mr. Boneparth concluded, "The appointments announced today will solidify our operating management team and, more importantly, the structure with which we will approach the market. We remain focused on competing as an institution so that we may continue to deliver superior product to our customers."

Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (http://www.jny.com), a Fortune 500 company, is a leading designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded apparel, footwear and accessories. We also market directly to consumers through our chain of specialty retail and value-based stores, and operate the Barneys New York chain of luxury stores. Our nationally recognized brands include Jones New York, Evan-Picone, Norton McNaughton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Erika, l.e.i., Energie, Nine West, Easy Spirit, Enzo Angiolini, Bandolino, Joan & David, Mootsies Tootsies, Sam & Libby, Napier, Judith Jack, Kasper, Anne Klein, Albert Nipon, Le Suit and Barneys New York. The Company also markets apparel under the Polo Jeans Company brand licensed from Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, costume jewelry under the Tommy Hilfiger brand licensed from Tommy Hilfiger Licensing, Inc. and the Givenchy brand licensed from Givenchy Corporation and footwear under the Dockers Women brand licensed from Levi Strauss & Co. Each brand is differentiated by its own distinctive styling, pricing strategy, distribution channel and target consumer. We primarily contract for the manufacture of our products through a worldwide network of quality manufacturers. We have capitalized on our nationally known brand names by entering into various licenses for several of our trademarks, including Jones New York, Evan-Picone, Anne Klein New York, Nine West, Gloria Vanderbilt and l.e.i., with select manufacturers of women's and men's products which we do not manufacture. For more than 30 years, we have built a reputation for excellence in product quality and value, and in operational execution.

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements regarding the Company's expected financial position, business and financing plans are forward-looking statements. The words "believes," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements also include representations of the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including:

• those associated with the effect of national and regional economic conditions;
• lowered levels of consumer spending resulting from a general economic downturn or lower levels of consumer confidence or generally reduced shopping activity caused by public safety concerns;
• the performance of the Company's products within the prevailing retail environment;
• customer acceptance of both new designs and newly-introduced product lines;
• the Company's reliance on a few department store groups for large portions of the Company's business;
• consolidation of the Company's retail customers;
• financial difficulties encountered by customers;
• the effects of vigorous competition in the markets in which the Company operates;
• the Company's ability to identify acquisition candidates and acquire such businesses on reasonable financial and other terms, in an increasingly competitive environment for such acquisitions;
• the integration of the organizations and operations of any acquired businesses into the Company's existing organization and operations;
• the Company's reliance on independent foreign manufacturers;
• changes in the costs of raw materials, labor and advertising;
• the general inability to obtain higher wholesale prices for the Company's products that the Company has experienced for many years;
• the uncertainties of sourcing associated with the new environment in which quota has been eliminated on apparel products while political pressure is building for the re-imposition of quotas in certain categories; and
• the Company's ability to secure and protect trademarks and other intellectual property rights.

A further description of these risks and uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10- K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, including, but not limited to, the Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Disclosure and the information concerning trends and risk factors included in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations therein, and in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such expectations may prove to be incorrect. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Jones Apparel Group, Inc.

/CONTACT: Wesley R. Card, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, or Anita Britt, Executive Vice President Finance, both of Jones Apparel Group, Inc., +1-215-785-4000/ /Web site: http://www.jny.com / (JNY)