Orchard Supply Hardware Announces Senior Executive Appointments; Addition of Chief Information Officer and Vice President, Supply Chain Completes OSH Senior Leadership Team

Business Wire, Sept 18, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) announces the appointments of Martin (Marty) Hodgett, as Chief Information Officer and Mike Racer as Vice President, Supply Chain. Hodgett and Racer started today.

"With the addition of Hodgett and Racer, we have assembled a world-class Executive Team with top industry talent and experience," said Rob Lynch, OSH President and CEO. "We've made a significant investment in building this team, which will enable us to reach our full growth potential."

Marty Hodgett comes to OSH after more than 20 years with Accenture (formerly Anderson Consulting) where he was a Senior Partner with the retail practice. There, he worked with Fortune 500 clients including Best Buy, eBay, Ross Stores and Starbucks. "While I am very pleased to be joining OSH as it builds its Executive Team, I am also proud to be joining a company with a long-standing history of excellence. In fact, my family and I have shopped at OSH for more than 30 years," said Hodgett. "I look forward to contributing to the company's success with the introduction of new processes and systems that will ensure the optimization of store and customer experiences."

Mike Racer joins the California-based retail chain of 85 home improvement and garden stores after spending 20 years with Gap, Inc. Most recently, Racer has served as Vice President of Logistics, overseeing distribution operation for all North American Distribution Centers. Prior to that position, he held roles of increasing responsibility with GAP, Inc., including Senior Director, European Distribution, and Vice President, International Distribution.

"OSH has an incredibly successful business model and has remained committed to providing excellent service and a unique shopping experience for their customers," said Racer. "I am excited to be joining this dynamic team, and I look forward to helping grow the business and enhancing the existing supply chain processes," said Racer.

About Orchard Supply Hardware

Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH), headquartered in San Jose, California, is a leading chain of home improvement and garden retail stores with 85 locations throughout California. OSH has a rich heritage, starting as a farmers' cooperative in 1931. For the past 75 years, OSH has been committed to offering its customers legendary service, selection and convenience. In November, 2005, OSH parent company Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) announced a transaction with the private equity fund Ares Management LLC. Ares invested $58.7 million cash for 19.9 percent of the voting stock in OSH, while Sears Holding maintains 80.1 percent of the voting stock. OSH also received $250 million in financing under the arrangement. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.osh.com.

About Sears Holdings

Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's third largest broadline retailer, with approximately $55 billion in annual revenues, and with approximately 3,800 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are offered exclusively in the U.S. by Kmart and in Canada by Sears Canada. The company is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 13 million service calls made annually. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at http://www.searsholdings.com.

About Ares Management LLC

Ares Management LLC is an independent investment firm with approximately $11 billion of total committed capital under management. Founded in 1997, Ares manages three complementary and distinct pools of capital in the private equity, private debt and public debt markets. Ares' private equity activities are conducted through two Ares Corporate Opportunities Funds: ACOF I and the new fund Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund II. Ares private debt activities are conducted through its management of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ ticker: ARCC), a publicly traded business development corporation. Ares' capital markets activities include the management of syndicated bank loans, high yield bonds and special situation investments, which are held in a variety of investment vehicles. The firm has over 130 employees and is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York and London. For more information about the company, please visit Ares Management's website at www.aresmgmt.com.