School Specialty: Launches SchoolSpecialty.com, enhanced website with new and improved shopping experience

Celebrates Launch With CyberHunt to Win $100 Each Day for Ten
Days Through March 24th



GREENVILLE, Wis., March 5, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — School Specialty
Inc. (OTCQB:SCOO) (“SSI” or “the Company”; @SchoolSpecialty), a leading
distributor of supplies, furniture and both supplemental and curriculum
products to the education marketplace, today announced the launch of a
new SchoolSpecialty.com website. Rolling out this spring in
anticipation of school shopping for the 2014-15 year, the new and
enhanced SchoolSpecialty.com website is now live with a fresh, exciting
look, and an optimized experience for both customers and vendors. A new
logo has also been unveiled, representing the Company’s renewed promise
to the nationwide education marketplace.



Featuring a clean new look and feel, the website is designed to fulfill
customer demand for intuitiveness and ease. The improvements are
directly related to improving the user experience so that customers can
easily find information and shop for products.



Rolling out in a series of phases this spring, users will find a range
of improvements, including:



OPTIMIZED SEARCHABILITY



Featuring a Shop our Products with complete categorization,
SchoolSpecialty.com allows users to shop by product category or item
groupings and provides extensive filtering capabilities that let
customers refine their needs to specific criteria. The result: an
optimized search experience that helps users find exactly what they
need, when they need it. New and exciting products and solutions are
easily identified in both the search and within the Shop our Products
for all of the Company’s offerings, including supplies, furniture, and
instructional solutions.



DETAILED IMAGERY AND INTUITIVE INSPIRATIONS



The enhanced website offers improved product detail information
including additional imagery, color choices, sizing information, and
product usage suggestions. The new SchoolSpecialty.com site will also
include more content such as ideas and inspirations within the product
pages themselves to help customers find related products and insightful
content for use in the classroom.



EASY SHOPPING CART ACCESS



Enhancements in ordering capabilities include easy view of saved carts,
shopping lists and lists needing approval — all available immediately
once you are logged in.



ONLINE CHAT & CUSTOMER SERVICE SELF HELP PORTAL



SchoolSpecialty.com offers online chat for those customers who might
experience issues with their ecommerce session. Operators are available
to help customers with any ordering issues encountered. While online
associates are not product experts, School Specialty customer service
representatives provide support at the toll free number, 1-888-388-3224
or via our Customer Support self-help portal at
http://www.schoolspecialty.com/customer-care.



In celebration of the launch, School Specialty is hosting a CyberHunt
through the new SchoolSpecialty.com site, in order to give customers a
fun chance to become acquainted with the new site–and the opportunity
to win a $100 gift certificate each day for ten days beginning March
11, 2014!



“Over the past couple of years, School Specialty has sought input from
our customers about their experience with our website. Feedback about
the user experience led us to take a closer look at its intuitiveness
and ease of use. Our improvements are directly related to enhancing the
customer experience with the direct goal of making their shopping
experience more enjoyable, efficient and effective,” explains Pat
Collins, Executive Vice President of the Distribution business for
School Specialty Inc. “We listen to our customers, our vendors and our
partners and we will continue to make enhancements that improve the
user experience and add value in the education marketplace.”



For a tour of the new SchoolSpecialty.com and high-resolution imagery,
please contact Dionne Manchester of GW Communications on behalf of SSI
at Dionne@GWCco.com or 212-786-6068.