Zale Corp ("ZLC-BDNPQX") - An Exclusive Partnership With Weddingchannel.com

Zale Corporation, the largest specialty retailer of fine jewelry in North America, announced an exclusive e-commerce and marketing partnership with WeddingChannel.com (www.weddingchannel.com), the most comprehensive online wedding planning resource and bridal registry with 900,000 registered brides and grooms.

Under the terms of this exclusive partnership, WeddingChannel.com will create and aggressively promote an online jewelry boutique starting with Zales Jewelers and eventually adding all Zale Corporation brands including Gordon's Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle Fine Jewelers and Peoples Jewellers.

"Our agreement with WeddingChannel.com will continue to build upon Zale Corporation's leadership position in the online jewelry market as we move forward in the year 2000 and beyond," said Robert DiNicola, Chairman of the Board, Zale Corporation. "Through this partnership, we are able to strengthen our brand and increase sales channels within the significant bridal market."

The site will assist couples and their guests with important jewelry purchases such as wedding bands, bridal party gifts and related items. Zale Corporation will incorporate WeddingChannel.com into related online and offline promotional programs.

"The bridal market accounts for almost 40 percent of Zale Corporation's overall sales," said Beryl Raff, President and CEO, Zale Corporation. "This agreement will deepen our relationship with our bridal customers. The new jewelry boutique will also include tips on proposing, information on cultural and ethnic traditions, and feature the best engagement stories. Additionally, WeddingChannel.com will provide ideas for coordinating fashion and jewelry."

"This partnership helps achieve our mission and secure our leadership in online wedding planning," said Adam Berger, President of WeddingChannel.com. "Our mission is to provide brides and grooms with the most comprehensive tools, information, and commerce to make the 'I will' to 'I do' journey as easy as possible. Our strategy remains to selectively partner with best-in-class brick-and-mortar retailers in the 20 or so segments comprising the $32 billion bridal market."

Zale Corporation operates 1,359 specialty retail jewelry stores located throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and online, including Zales Jewelers, Zales Outlet, Zales Direct at www.zales.com, Gordon's Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle Fine Jewelers and Peoples Jewellers. Additional information on Zale Corporation and its operating brands is available on the Internet at www.zalecorp.com.

WeddingChannel.com (www.weddingchannel.com), the Web's leading bridal resource, is the first Internet business to offer consumers a complete menu of wedding-related services, including personalized web pages, planning tools, e-commerce, online travel planning, local business directories and the largest database of bridal fashions. Through exclusive relationships with the top retail brands in the world, WeddingChannel.com has created an integrated online and off-line bridal registry which services more than 900,000 registered brides and grooms.

This release includes certain forward-looking information that is based upon management's beliefs as well as on assumptions made by and data currently available to management. This information which has been, or in the future may be, included in reliance on the "safe harbor" provisions on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the factors identified in the Company's 10-K and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein may not be realized. TEL: (972) 580-5047 Investor: Cynthia T. Gordon