Press Release: July 13, 2001

WR Hambrecht + Co Initiates Coverage of Cost Plus (CPWM) with a Buy Rating and $35 PriceTarget

San Francisco, CA, July 13, 2001—WR Hambrecht + Co today initiated research coverage on Cost Plus (CPWM) with a Buy rating and a $35 price target. WR Hambrecht’s Specialty Retail analyst Kristine Koerber cites store growth prospects, a strong balance sheet and unique product mix offering consumers a value proposition as key reasons for the rating. WR Hambrecht + Co offers all its research reports free and real time at www.wrhambrecht.com.

“We recommend Cost Plus shares based on projected earnings growth of about 20 percent annually, estimated annual comp store sales growth of three to five percent, and significant growth opportunities with unit growth of roughly 20 percent per year,” Koerber said.

Koerber added, “Further, we believe that Cost Plus is better positioned during times of market and economic uncertainty as consumers become more value oriented or price sensitive and tend to gravitate toward value-oriented retailers.”

WR Hambrecht + Co estimates Cost Plus to post EPS of $1.21 on revenues of $587.7 million in fiscal 2001 and $1.43 on $702.9 million in fiscal 2002. Cost Plus reported an EPS of $1.00 on $493.7 million in fiscal 2000.

Cost Plus, Inc. is a specialty retailer of casual home furnishing and entertaining products.