SEATTLE -- Mercer & Company Inc., a leading women's contemporary specialty retailer, is slated to open its new store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. The new store will be approximately 2,000 square feet and will open this Friday, September 8 at 12:00 p.m. Mercer at Stanford Shopping Center will be the retailer's fourth store on the West Coast, and its second store in the state of California.

"The Stanford location will allow us to bring the best modern fashion brands to Palo Alto and execute our strategy of creating a one stop shop of the best contemporary designers such as Theory, Rebecca Taylor, Cynthia Vincent, Vince and Diane vonFurstenberg," said Karen Bonomo, Mercer president. "We are looking forward to expanding Mercer, and know that the Silicon Valley customer is a perfect fit for our concept. Mercer is a fun and efficient place to shop, the vibe in the store is very current, and we focus on simplifying the shopping process by editing the mix and merchandising the store by wardrobing concepts rather than by brand. We offer a tremendous solution for those customers who prefer shopping in a warm and friendly multi-brand boutique rather than a cavernous department store."

Mercer opened its first store in Seattle at Pine Lake Village in the upscale suburb of Sammamish, in April 2003, and has quickly developed a loyal following of women who love current fashion and the leading fashion brands Mercer offers. "Mercer's collection of brands and products will complement the successful mix of retailers at the Shops at Mission Viejo," said Patsy Sanquist, Director of Area Marketing at the Shops at Mission Viejo. Stanford Shopping Center is a marquee destination and offers a unique formula of national chains (Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Apple, Louis Vutton, and Nordstrom) and local retailers for home furnishing, popular fashions, unique gift items, and a distinctive selection of restaurants and eateries.

Mercer offers an extensive selection of collections, jeans, t-shirts, sexy tops, pants, dresses, lingerie, jackets, accessories, and lifestyle home products from contemporary brands such as Juicy Couture, Citizen's for Humanity, Seven for all Mankind, True Religion, Habitual, Rock and Republic, Hudson, Earnest Sewn, Ella Moss, James Perse, C & C California, Michael Stars, Splendid, Lacoste, Isabella Fiore, Kooba, Julie Lindsay, Autumn Cashmere, Hanky Panky, Cosabella, Underglam, Tocca, and Anthousa.

Mercer is merchandised by item, by classification, and by trend, delivering quick and easy shopping for the "on the go" contemporary customer. For more information on Mercer please contact Karen Bonomo at 425-392-1574 or visit www.mercerstore.com