Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation and Benjamin Moore & Co. Announce New Distribution Agreement

SAN JOSE, Calif.--()--Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation (Nasdaq:OSH), a specialty retailer focused on the consumer segment of the home improvement market, announced that it has entered into a multi-year distribution agreement with Benjamin Moore & Co., a leading premium quality national paint manufacturer. Under the agreement, Benjamin Moore will become Orchard’s exclusive supplier of interior and exterior paint coatings. The roll-out to Orchard’s 87-store chain is expected to begin in March and be completed by August 2012.

“We are excited to have a strategic alliance with a premier brand like Benjamin Moore to offer our customers the highest quality paint solution in the marketplace,” said Mark Baker, Orchard’s President and CEO. “As the number one category in home improvement, paint is a key area of focus for Orchard and represents an important long-term growth opportunity for our Company. We have a great deal of respect for Benjamin Moore’s 129-year history and position as an innovator and market leader. We look forward to a long and productive relationship.”

Dan Calkins, Benjamin Moore’s Vice President of Sales, added, “Orchard’s 80-year history and emphasis on providing customers with quality products and exceptional service make the Company an attractive partner for Benjamin Moore. This alliance allows us to broaden our reach in the hardware channel, further engaging the convenience-driven, do-it-yourself shopper. Consistently, Benjamin Moore is the consumer brand of choice, preferred for its quality of performance and unrivaled color leadership. In 2011, we were ranked highest in consumer satisfaction by the J.D. Power & Associates annual survey. We are thrilled to partner with a preeminent California retailer in order to help homeowners more readily find Benjamin Moore products.”

About Orchard

Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation (Nasdaq:OSH), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Orchard Supply LLC, is a specialty retailer primarily focused on homeowners with repair, maintenance and improvement needs. Founded as a purchasing cooperative in San Jose in 1931, as of February 3, 2012, the Company operates 87 full-service hardware stores in California. The stores average approximately 44,000 square feet of enclosed retail space and approximately 8,000 square feet of exterior nursery and garden space, carrying a broad assortment of merchandise across three primary categories: repair and maintenance, lawn and garden and in-home products.

About Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore & Co., a Berkshire Hathaway company, was founded in 1883. One of the country's leading manufacturers of premium-quality residential, commercial and industrial maintenance paints and other coatings, its products are distributed via a network of independent paint and decorating retailers throughout North America. Benjamin Moore has been a longstanding steward of the environment with a relentless commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices plus the ongoing development of the most eco-responsible paint formulations possible. Its portfolio of Green Promise® products continues to grow and includes Aura®, its über-performance low-VOC paint; Natura®, a true zero-VOC interior paint, remaining zero after tinting in any color, any sheen; and EcoSpec® WB zero-VOC paint for commercial interiors. The J.D. Power & Associates 2011 Interior Paint Satisfaction Study ranked Benjamin Moore highest in consumer satisfaction. What's more, the Benjamin Moore color offering of 3,300 hues is unrivaled, but any custom color choice can be matched, as was recently done for the White House Oval Office ceiling and trims. The only assurance of getting an authentic Benjamin Moore color is using Benjamin Moore paint, since the colorants and resins are proprietary and formulated with the company's own patented waterborne technologies. And, authentic Benjamin Moore colors are available exclusively from Benjamin Moore retailers.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

This press release (including information incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein) contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those involving future events and future results that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the current beliefs and assumptions of the Company's management. Words such as "outlook", "believes", "expects", "appears", "may", "will", "should", “intend”, “target”, “projects”, “estimates”, “plans”, “forecast”, “is likely to”, "anticipates", or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, are intended to identify such forward looking statements. Any statement that is not a historical fact, including estimates, projections, future trends and the outcome of events that have not yet occurred, is a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, factors discussed under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of such factors relate to events and circumstances that are beyond the Company's control. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this press release.

Contacts

Investor Relations:
The Blueshirt Group
Christine Greany, 858-523-1732
christine@blueshirtgroup.com
or
Media:
Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation
Rick Saunders, 408-365-2662
Director of Marketing
rick.saunders@osh.com
or
Benjamin Moore & Co.
Eileen McComb, 201-949-6620
Director of Corporate Communications
eileen.mccomb@benjaminmoore.com

Contacts

Investor Relations:
The Blueshirt Group
Christine Greany, 858-523-1732
christine@blueshirtgroup.com
or
Media:
Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation
Rick Saunders, 408-365-2662
Director of Marketing
rick.saunders@osh.com
or
Benjamin Moore & Co.
Eileen McComb, 201-949-6620
Director of Corporate Communications
eileen.mccomb@benjaminmoore.com