PriceSmart, Inc. Announces New Chief Financial Officer

SAN DIEGO, April 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) today announced the appointment of Maarten Jager as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective April 24, 2018.  Mr. Jager will replace John M. Heffner who has served in that role since January 2004 and had previously announced his plans to retire from the Company.

Mr. Jager currently serves as Senior Vice President of Walmart International, a segment of Walmart Inc., where he has worked since 2014.  During his tenure at Walmart, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sam's Club from 2015 to 2018 and as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of its Asia division from 2014 to 2015.  Prior to Walmart, from 2013 to 2014, Mr. Jager worked as a consultant to public and private companies and their executives providing guidance on growth, turnaround and organizational effectiveness.  Mr. Jager worked 14 years at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. in varying management and technology consulting positions before devoting six more years to Diageo North America Inc. to oversee many different financial responsibilities.

Mr. Jager received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from the University of Michigan in 1987, and a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford University a year later.  In 1994, Mr. Jager received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago, majoring in Business Strategy, Economics and Finance.  Mr. Jager is 52 years old. 

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, headquartered in San Diego, owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in Latin America and the Caribbean, selling high quality merchandise at low prices to PriceSmart members. PriceSmart now operates 40 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory (seven each in Colombia and Costa Rica; five in Panama; four in Trinidad; three each in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Honduras; two each in El Salvador and Nicaragua; and one each in Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica and the United States Virgin Islands). Additionally, PriceSmart through its Aeropost subsidiary provides logistics, payment and ecommerce services in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Aeropost serves customers in 38 countries with Costa Rica, Trinidad and Jamaica as its largest markets.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the Company's anticipated future revenues and earnings, adequacy of future cash flow, proposed warehouse club openings, the Company's performance relative to competitors, the outcome of tax proceedings and related matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements containing the words "expect," "believe," "will," "may," "should," "project," "estimate," "anticipated," "scheduled," and like expressions, and the negative thereof. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, the following external and internal risks:

External Risks

• Natural disasters that might cause damages not covered by insurance;
• Negative macroeconomic conditions;
• Volatility in foreign currency exchange rates and limitations on our ability to convert foreign currency to US dollars;
• Changes in, and inconsistent enforcement of laws and regulations in countries where we operate, including those related to tariffs and taxes;
• Compliance risks;
• Crime and security concerns, which can adversely affect the economies of the countries in which we operate and which require us to incur additional costs to provide additional security at our warehouse clubs;
• Recoverability of moneys owed to PriceSmart from governments in countries where we do business; and
• The possibility of operational interruptions related to union work stoppages;

Internal Risks:

• We might not identify or effectively respond to changes in consumer shopping preferences with resulting negative effects on our sales and market share;
• Significant competition, including from international online retailers;
• Limitations on the availability of appropriate sites for new warehouse clubs could adversely affect growth;
• We may experience increased costs, delays or failure in our efforts to integrate our online commerce with our traditional brick and mortar business;
• Cost increases from product and service providers;
• Interruption of supply chains, which might adversely impact on our ability to import merchandise;
• Failure to maintain our brand's reputation;
• Exposure to product liability claims and product recalls;
• Failure to maintain our computer systems and/or disruption in those systems;
• Delays or cost overruns implementing our new Enterprise Resource Planning system;
• Any failure to maintain the security of the information we hold relating to our company, our members, employees and suppliers;
• Failure to attract and retain qualified employees, significant increases in wage and benefit expenses, or changes in labor laws with consequent material adverse effect on our financial performance;
• Changes in accounting standards affecting management's financial assumptions, projections, estimates and judgments; and
• a few of our stockholders own approximately 25.3% of our voting stock as of February 28, 2018, which may make it difficult to complete some corporate transactions without their support and may impede a change in control

The risks described above as well as the other risks detailed in the Company's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reports, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017 filed on October 26, 2017, pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, see "Part I - Item 1A - Risk Factors," could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These risks are not the only risks that the Company faces. The Company could also be affected by additional factors that apply to all companies operating globally and in the U.S., as well as other risks that are not presently known to the Company or that the Company currently considers to be immaterial.

For further information, please contact John M. Heffner, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer (858) 404-8826.

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SOURCE PriceSmart, Inc.