Gottschalks August Comps Up 0.5%

Gottschalks same store sales for the month of August 2004
increased 0.5% from the prior year. Total sales for the month were essentially even with last year, increasing to $47.3 million from $47.2 million in August 2003. On a year-to-date basis, same store sales increased 1.5% from the comparable period of fiscal 2003. Total sales on a year-to-date basis were $339.6 million compared to $339.8 million in the same period of the prior year. For the month the Company operated one less store than the same
period of fiscal 2003, and year-to-date operated seven fewer stores compared
to the same period last year.

Jim Famalette, president and chief executive officer of Gottschalks said,
“Sales for the month of August met our expectations. Our focus on better
inventory management positioned us to begin the month with cleaner
inventories, which allowed us to conduct less clearance activity compared to
the previous year. We also ended August with comparable store inventory 4%
below that of last year. During the month, our best-performing categories
included women's accessories, an area that continues to be strong for us, as
well as shoes, sportswear, juniors and home textiles. In September, we are
looking forward to marketing events planned around our celebration of
Gottschalks' 100th anniversary. We continue to anticipate comparable store
sales growth in the range of 1% to 2% for the third quarter this year over
last year.”

Sales results are summarized as follows:

                                                       Total%       Same Store

                           August 28,  August 30,     Increase/       Sales%

                              2004        2003       (Decrease)      Increase

                           (in 000's)

    Sales, 4 Weeks Ended     $47,292     $47,249        0.1%           0.5%
    Sales, 30 Weeks Ended   $339,601    $339,840       (0.1%)          1.5%