MICHAEL LEVIN JOINS FAMECO REAL ESTATE

AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

        PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA.--Michael Levin has been named Chief Operating Officer at Fameco Real Estate, it was announced by Brandon Famous, CEO and founder of the retail real estate firm based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

        Describing Levin as "one of the most respected real estate executives in the Philadelphia area," Famous said he will oversee all aspects of Fameco's operations, with particular focus on the Brokerage Division.

        Formerly Executive Vice President, Real Estate and Operations, at Five Below, Levin has spent most of the past 14 years working with two of this area's top retail entrepreneurs, David Schlessinger and Tom Vellios.  Schlessinger gained an enviable reputation for his savvy in first creating Encore Books, then Zany Brainy and, most recently, Five Below along with Tom Vellios. 

        When Levin joined Zany Brainy in 1994, the company had five stores.  As Vice President of Real Estate, he led the expansion to 188 stores in 34 states. 

    "When I joined David and Tom at Five Below in early 2002," Levin said, "they had nothing but an idea.  We grew the company to 62 stores in five Mid-Atlantic states, with several more planned to open this year before the holidays.

     "Over the years, I worked closely with Fameco Real Estate, which

functioned as our tenant representative in the Philadelphia region, and found that same kind of entrepreneurial spirit.  I am excited to join Fameco and play a role in taking the company to the next level. I expect this to be an exciting challenge."

      Levin noted that Fameco is already the pre-eminent brand and one of the largest commercial real estate brokerages in the Philadelphia area. In addition, Fameco is one of the country's fastest growing third-party management companies in retail real estate for the past two years, according to Chain Store Age, which reports on the industry's annual statistics. 

       A resident of Strafford, Pa., Levin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut, majoring in Economics with a minor in Business Administration.  He went on to receive his J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law.

        Fameco is the Delaware Valley's foremost real estate firm in the retail sector, specializing in retailer representation, owner representation, investment sales and management services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and beyond.

          The firm is the exclusive representative for 90 shopping

centers and retail properties totaling 14 million square feet in the

tri-state area, manages 9 million s.f. of retail space and exclusively represents more than 75 retailers expanding in the Delaware Valley.   Fameco's Investment Sales Team has completed transactions in excess of $1 billion.

         Fameco is the ChainLinks member shareholder in the Delaware Valley. ChainLinks is the nation's largest retail-only real estate provider with 62 regional brokerage firms in the U.S. and Canada. 

November 2 , 2007