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Cole
National Names New Pearle Vision President - PR Newswire - May 29, 2003 3:54pm CLEVELAND, May 29 - PRNewswire-FirstCall - Cole National Corporation (NYSE: CNJ), a leading retailer of optical products and services and personalized gifts with over 2,900 locations throughout North America and the Caribbean, and one of the nation's largest providers of managed vision care benefits, today announced the hiring of Terry J. Hanson as President of its Pearle Vision, Inc. subsidiary. Mr. Hanson will take over the leadership of Pearle Vision after a successful career in retailing with ULTA Salon, Cosmetics and Fragrances, Inc., which he co-founded in 1990, and American Drug Stores. Since its founding, ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrances has developed into a 115-store specialty beauty chain and accompanying internet business. The ULTA brand is known for its high quality, customer-focused product lines and customer service. Prior to co-founding ULTA, Mr. Hanson was the President of American Drug Stores, a 658-store chain. During his 20-year tenure there, he held several executive positions that gave him a strong retail background in store operations, merchandising, and marketing. Larry Pollock, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cole National, commented, "Terry's background in the pharmacy industry has many parallels to ours in the optical business. That background, coupled with his experience with ULTA, makes him a wonderful addition to our senior management team." Mr. Hanson commented, "I am thrilled to be a part of the Pearle Vision organization. The Pearle brand name is one that customers respect and has both a strong heritage and a tremendous amount of potential in the optical business. I am really looking forward to working with our corporate stores and our franchisees in growing the business." Mr. Hanson graduated from North Dakota State University with both B.S. and M.S. degrees. He and his wife, Susan, will be relocating to Cleveland from Naperville, Illinois. About Cole National Cole National Corporation's vision business is one of the world's largest retailers of eyewear and optometric services, operating 2,174 locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Its Pearle Vision chain, which includes 400 company-owned and 464 franchise locations, is one of the strongest brands in the optical industry. Cole National also includes Cole Managed Vision, one of the largest managed vision care benefit providers and owns a 21% interest in Pearle Europe, which has 1,157 optical stores in 11 countries overseas. Cole's personalized gift business, Things Remembered serves customers through 770 locations nationwide, catalogs and the Internet at www.thingsremembered.com. Copyright © 2003 PR Newswire http://www.prnewswire.com
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