Yankee Candle Names Stephen Farley Senior Vice President, Retail Divis

    Business Editors

    SOUTH DEERFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2005--The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. ("Yankee Candle" or the "Company") (NYSE:YCC), the leading designer, manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of premium scented candles, today announced that Stephen Farley has joined the Company as Senior Vice President, Retail Division.
    Mr. Farley joins Yankee Candle from The Bombay Company, a leading specialty retailer of home accessories and home decor, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President, Marketing and Merchandising. Prior to joining The Bombay Company in 2002, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for J.C. Penney, one of America's largest department store, catalog and e-commerce retailers. Mr. Farley also previously held various senior leadership positions with Payless Shoe Source, Inc., Pizza Hut and the leading marketing and advertising agencies of Earle Palmer Brown and Saatchi & Saatchi.
    "We are very pleased to have Steve join our leadership team and we look forward to his many contributions as we continue to successfully grow our Retail division," said Harlan M. Kent, the President of Yankee Candle. "Steve brings proven leadership and general management skills and a strong background in merchandising, sourcing, brand stewardship and marketing. His knowledge of specialty retail and the home decor category, together with his strong focus on merchandising and product development, will be invaluable as we continue to grow our Retail business and enhance our product offerings and overall shopping experience. In addition to his experience as a senior executive with leading retailers as diverse as The Bombay Company and J.C. Penney, Steve's extensive marketing and advertising background will also enable him to add significant value to our efforts to further build and leverage the already strong Yankee Candle brand."
    "I am excited to be joining Yankee Candle, a growing and industry-leading company with a strong, recognized brand and a proven track record," said Mr. Farley. "Yankee Candle has a long history of success and innovation within its category, and I am very much looking forward to working with the entire management team to continue the Company's successful and profitable growth."

    About The Yankee Candle Company, Inc.

    The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. is the leading designer, manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of premium scented candles in the giftware industry. Yankee has a 35 year history of offering distinctive products and marketing them as affordable luxuries and consumable gifts. The Company sells its products through a North American wholesale customer network of approximately 15,500 store locations, a growing base of Company owned and operated retail stores (345 located in 43 states as of October 1, 2004), direct mail catalogs, its Internet website (www.yankeecandle.com), international distributors and to a European wholesale customer network of approximately 2,000 store locations (through its distribution center located in Bristol, England).

    This press release may contain certain information constituting "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to any statements concerning the Company's or management's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, expectations, estimates, beliefs or projections, or any other statements concerning future performance or events. Actual results could differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the following: the current economic conditions in the United States as a whole and the continuing weakness in the retail environment; the risk that we will be unable to maintain our historical growth rate; the effects of competition from others in the highly competitive giftware industry; our ability to anticipate and react to industry trends and changes in consumer demand; our dependence upon our senior executive officers; the risk of loss of our manufacturing and distribution facilities; the impact on our stock price of seasonal, quarterly and other fluctuations in our business; and other factors described or contained in the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements represent our views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update certain forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so even if experience or future events may cause the views contained in any forward-looking statements to change.

--30--MP/bo*

CONTACT: Yankee Candle Company, Inc. Harlan M. Kent, 413-665-8306

KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: RETAIL MANAGEMENT CHANGES SOURCE: Yankee Candle Company, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005