Cost Plus, Inc. Announces the Hiring of Senior Vice President of Merchandising

Oakland, CA – December 6, 2006 — Cost Plus, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPWM) announced the hiring of George Whitney as Senior Vice President of Merchandising.

George has held a number of senior level merchandising positions at Macy’s West including significant assignments with the home side of the business. After 17 years at Macy’s, George went on to a variety of entrepreneurial retail and wholesale ventures, including the Discovery Channel retail venture. He also spent several years as the vice president and general merchandise manager at Home Style with QVC, Inc. Most recently, George relocated to Hong Kong where he founded and led a product development trading company subsidiary for a major home products supplier.

“We conducted an extensive search to continue to strengthen our merchant organization,” said Barry Feld, President and CEO. “After months of benchmarking the progress of internal candidates against the talent pool of diverse, entrepreneurial outside candidates, we are pleased to have George lead our merchant organization. With his vast merchandising experience, we expect George to make meaningful contributions to the organization.”
Cost Plus, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of casual home living and entertaining products. As of December 6, 2006, the Company operates 287 stores in 34 states.

Contact:
Tom Willardson
(510)808-9119