Talbots is a leading specialty retailer, cataloger and e-tailer of women's classic apparel. Its collection for women includes high-quality sportswear, versatile career separates, casual wear and special occasion classics in an extensive range of sizes. A complementary selection of shoes and accessories provides customers with "head-to-toe" wardrobing. Talbots maintains a timeless, unconditional guarantee on its merchandise, supporting its credo, "Do What is Right for the Customer."

Talbots was established in 1947 with a single store in Hingham, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The following year, Talbots distributed 3,000 black-and-white fliers to names obtained from The New Yorker magazine, launching its catalog business. Talbots was acquired by General Mills in 1973, which began expanding the Company nationally. In June 1988, Talbots joined JUSCO Co., Ltd. (now ÆON Co., Ltd.), one of Japan's leading retailers and the core company of the ÆON Group. On November 19, 1993, Talbots became a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TLB." On May 3, 2006, The Talbots, Inc. acquired The J. Jill Group, Inc., which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The Company offers its merchandise under the Talbots and J. Jill brands via stores, catalog and internet. Together, the brands serve a broad diversity of women within the fast-growing 35+ population through an extensive range of sizes and distinct yet complementary styles.

Today, the Company's retail operation comprises approximately 81% of Talbots overall business, with the catalog representing approximately 19%. The Company currently operates a total of 1,421 stores in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and the U.K., with 1,150 stores under the Talbots brand name and 271 stores under the J. Jill brand name.

Talbots serves a well-defined customer niche. Talbots customers are well-educated, active in their community, and socially and culturally aware. While they can range from teenager to grandparent, they are typically over 35 years old. Approximately 70% of Talbots customers have a college education and the majority are professionally employed.

At the end of Talbots 2007 fiscal year, the Company had approximately 16,000 associates of which 12,300 are Talbots associates and 3,700 are J. Jill associates.

Talbots Concepts
	Talbots Misses. Talbots Misses is the Company's core business. The assortment, which generally ranges from sizes 2 to 20, evolves strategically to allow a customer to build and update her wardrobe from year to year. Talbots Misses stores average approximately 3,200 selling square feet. Each store is designed to blend with its surrounding environment and is decorated in a warm, residential style. At the entrance of each store is Talbots signature red door.
	Talbots Petites. Talbots first Petites store opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1985 and expansion of the concept began in 1990. Petite sizes from 2-16 are carried in the catalog and online, and a Petites assortment is included in every Misses store, except where it has generated enough sales to warrant a separate store of its own. Talbots Petites stores have approximately 2,200 square feet of selling space, and are similar in design to Misses stores.
	Talbots Kids. The Talbots Kids concept was launched with a catalog in 1989 and two stores in the fall of 1990. The assortment includes colorful, wearable clothing for girls and boys in sizes 2-20. Each store measures approximately 2,400 selling square feet and features a play area. Talbots Babies was added in August 1995 in four expanded Talbots Kids stores and nationally in September 1995 through the catalog. The line, which is in all Talbots Kids stores, extends the size range in Kids from newborn to size 16. The Talbots Babies assortment includes soft, comfortable clothing for boys and girls in infant and newborn sizes.
	Talbots Accessories & Shoes. Already successfully established in the Company's catalog and stores, separate Accessories & Shoes stores were introduced in September 1995. Talbots Accessories & Shoes stores average 1,300 selling square feet.
	Talbots Woman. Launched in the fall of 1998, the Talbots Woman line features high-quality clothing designed to fit women wearing sizes 12W to 24W. The concept was introduced to customers nationwide through a catalog and in select retail locations, including the first Talbots Woman store located at Plaza Frontenac in St. Louis, Missouri. Talbots Woman stores average 2,200 selling square feet. In 2001, the company introduced Talbots Woman Petites sizes for fuller figured women who are 5’4" and under.
	Talbots Mens. Following a catalog launch in the fall of 2002, the first Talbots Mens stores opened in April 2003. The average Talbots Mens store is approximately 3,200 square feet, with about 2,500 selling square feet. The Mens line is also available online at www.talbots.com. Talbots Mens is distinguished by superior fabrications, great fit and comfort, impeccable tailoring and a balance of classic and more fashion-forward colors. Appropriate for business casual environments and weekend activities, the assortment includes sportcoats, dress trousers, dress shirts, sweaters, casual pants, jeans, sportshirts, as well as a selection of outerwear and ties.
	In addition to its six concepts, Talbots also offers other complementary product lines, including Talbots Collection—an upper layer assortment offering more luxurious fabrications and sophisticated styling. Talbots Collection is available in 106 misses stores and 60 petite stores nationwide, including two Talbots Collection stores (Boston and Los Angeles). In March 2005, the Company introduced Talbots Collection Petites and Talbots Collection Shoes.

In addition to its single-concept stores, Talbots also operates superstores, which comprise three or more concepts, and flagship stores, which are larger than average single-concept Talbots stores in major urban locations.

In fiscal 2007, Talbots distributed 28 separate full-color catalogs with a worldwide circulation of approximately 48 million. Talbots offers base books that feature the Company's entire assortment as well as specialty catalogs that focus on one theme or season. These include Talbots Kids, Talbots Mens, Talbots Accessories & Shoes and sale books. Talbots catalog operation is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year (closed Christmas Day). The Company offers a toll-free number for customers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, foreign language services for all international customers, and a toll-free telephone service for the hearing impaired.

With an established fulfillment and distribution system already in place, Talbots entered the world of e-commerce in November 1999 at www.talbots.com. Talbots offers the same merchandise and services online as it does through its stores and catalogs; as with catalog customers, online shoppers can return purchases to any Talbots store or its distribution center in Lakeville, Massachusetts. Customers can register at the site and receive special benefits using the MyTalbots feature. This allows them to check the status of their order, create a personal address book or enjoy expedited checkout services. Another feature of the website is a "buy this outfit" option, which allows a customer to order a complete outfit with just one click. In February 2005, Talbots introduced Style Search, which enables customers to locate and reserve merchandise at any Talbots store through talbots.com.

Talbots currently operates stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, while its catalog reaches customers in over 140 countries around the world. Talbots international retail expansion began in Canada in 1991 with the opening of three Misses stores in Toronto; its European expansion was launched in the fall of 1994 with the opening of a Misses store in Kingston Upon Thames, a suburb of London, England. The Company opened its London flagship location on Regent Street in November 1998. Talbots international stores carry the same merchandise assortment offered in the U.S., in Misses, Petites and Womans sizes.

Corporate Headquarters. Opened in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1970, Talbots corporate headquarters is approximately 313,000 square feet and serves as the Company's business and merchandising offices.

Distribution Center. Located in Lakeville, Massachusetts, Talbots state-of-the art catalog fulfillment and retail distribution center measures approximately 933,000 usable square feet.

Product Development Center. Talbots product development office provides trend direction for all Talbots merchandise. The office, opened in November 1989, is located on Broadway in New York City.

Catalog Sales and Customer Service Center. Talbots operates a catalog sales and customer service center in Knoxville, Tennessee, which opened in April 1989 and relocated to an expanded facility in 2004.

Information Systems Center. Located in Tampa, Florida, Talbots systems center handles the bulk of the Company's information systems and data processing.

International Retailing Ltd., Inc. Talbots established its first overseas operation in Hong Kong in April 1989. The operation provides manufacturing source selection and delivery, costing, quality control, technical design and product testing. It also acts as a liaison between Far East vendors and Talbots Product Development and Merchandising offices.

Trudy F. Sullivan
President and Chief Executive Officer

Philip H. Kowalczyk
Chief Operating Officer

Michael Smaldone
Chief Creative Officer

Basha Cohen
Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer

Lori Wagner
Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

Michele Mandell
Executive Vice President, Stores

Richard T. O’Connell, Jr.
Executive Vice President, Legal and Real Estate

Edward L. Larsen
Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Julie Lorigan
Vice President, Investor Relations
781-741-7775 (Direct Line)
781-741-7771 (Fax)

Betsy D. Thompson
Director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations
781-741-4066 (Direct Line)
781-741-7734 (Fax)

For sample requests, please email prsamples@talbots.com.  

One Talbots Drive
Hingham, Massachusetts 02043
781-749-7600 (Telephone)
781-741-4369 (Fax)

7941 Jane Street, Unit 3A
Concord, Ontario L4K 4L6
905-660-0500 (Telephone)
905-660-3417 (Fax)

115 Regent Street
London W1B 4HW
011-44-207-734-5032 (Telephone)
011-44-207-734-5042 (Fax)

1-800-TALBOTS (1-800-825-2687)

0800-963-418

1-800-KIDS-123 (1-800-543-7123)

1-800-438-9443

0800-968-378

1-800-624-9179

1-800-992-9010

0800-963-418

781-741-4028

www.talbots.com