Rec Room Raises $6 Million in Funding and Appoints Charles 'Rick' Weber as CEO

CHICAGO, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rec Room, Chicago's leading specialty retailer focused on furnishing household game rooms and recreational rooms, today announced that it has secured $6 million dollars in Series A financing and appointed Charles "Rick" Weber as CEO.

In conjunction with the financing, Tom Stemberg and John Burns of Highland Capital Partners will join the company's board of directors.

"We are thrilled to have a seasoned retail executive like Rick on board as CEO," said Ernie LaSalle, founder of Rec Room and President of the Liberty Buying Group, an association of billiard-oriented retailers. "Rick has shown marked success as a leader in specialty retail and his operational experience makes him a critical player in growing our company."

Rick comes to Rec Room with more than 30 years of broad retail experience with an extensive background in high-growth retail environments. Most recently, Rick was CFO and COO of Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance. During his tenure at Ulta, Rick was instrumental in growing the business from 50 stores to 173 locations. He had broad responsibilities, which included store operations, site selection and construction, finance and general management of the business. Prior to Ulta, Rick worked as the CFO and Director of Dominick's Finer Foods, a Chicago-based grocer with locations throughout the Midwest.

As CEO of Rec Room, Rick will be responsible for expanding Rec Room within the Chicago area and identifying additional market opportunities that will allow the organization to grow into a national leader.

"The game room industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years," said the new CEO of Rec Room, Rick Weber. "There is an awesome growth opportunity for us as an organization. Our unique mix of merchandise selection and vibrant store formats has made us a destination of choice for consumers furnishing their recreational rooms. Highland's support will enable us to seize the market opportunity and build a world class management team."

"Rick Weber has repeatedly proven his abilities to execute a growth strategy," says Tom Stemberg, Venture Partner with Highland Capital Partners and founder of the office superstore Staples. "Highland's investment in Rec Room provides the funds necessary to expand its operations and Rick provides the talent to do it effectively."

About Rec Room

Rec Room is a leading specialty retailer with an exclusive focus on furnishing game rooms and recreational rooms within individual households. Rec Room's merchandise selection allows one-stop shopping, enabling customers to furnish the entire game room. Major categories include billiard tables, bar stools/counter stools, game tables/poker tables, home theatre furnishings, bars, games and accessories. The Company is one of the largest retailers of game room furniture and equipment in the U.S. http://www.recroomfurniture.com/

About Highland Capital Partners

Highland Capital Partners was founded with the mission of helping great people build great companies. Since its inception in 1988, the firm has taken a sector-focused approach to investing in exceptional information technology, communications, healthcare and consumer companies. With more than $2.6 billion of committed capital, Highland has invested in and worked to create such firms as Ask Jeeves, Avid Technology, Be Free, CheckFree, Conor Medsystems, lululemon, Lycos, MapQuest, New Oak Communications, Ocular Networks, Staples.com, Sybase, Telica and VistaPrint. For more information, visit Highland's website: http://www.hcp.com/.

  For more information, contact:
  Highland Capital Partners
  Michael Gaiss
  Senior Vice President
  (781) 861-5517
  mgaiss@hcp.com