Commenting on the financing deal with Wells Fargo Retail Finance, Yale T. Dolginow, president and chief executive officer of Paper Warehouse says, "We are pleased to have secured a facility such as this and to be partnering with Wells Fargo Retail Finance. We sought a credit structure that was more flexible than our previous facility and one that better matched the seasonal needs of our business. This new facility will provide us with the additional liquidity necessary to support the company's ongoing working capital needs."

In addition to announcing its financing deal with Wells Fargo Retail yesterday, Paper Warehouse released its second quarter financial results which report revenues of $22.1 million, down 6%from the $23.6 million posted last year. In addition, the company says it realized a net loss of approximately $263,000 or 14 cents per share, as compared to net income of $879,000 recorded a year ago. For the first six months of its fiscal 2001, Paper Warehouse posted flat revenue growth and a net loss of $689,000.

"The economy continues to hurt specialty retailers such as Paper Warehouse, and as a result, our second quarter sales performance was disappointing," Dolginow notes. "However, we have taken a variety of steps to strengthen the potential of third and fourth quarter's results."

Wells Fargo Finance LLC Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Andrew H. Moser comments that the working capital it is providing to Paper Warehouse "will help them become an even more important player in the industry."

He notes, "Paper Warehouse continues to demonstrate its own point of differentiation from other competitors within the niche party and paper business, despite the economic downturn."

Wells Fargo Retail Finance LLC, which is based in Boston, also has offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. The company, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo and Company, has more than $1.9 billion in loan commitments to retailers throughout North America.