Coastal Contacts Announces Appointment of Tushar Shah to Board of Directors

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 16, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Contacts
Inc. (TSX:COA) (Stockholm:COA) (the "Company" or "Coastal") is pleased to
announce today that Mr. Tushar Shah has been appointed to the Company's Board
of Directors. 

Mr. Shah is a Managing Partner of Kinderhook Partners. Prior to Kinderhook
Partners, Mr. Shah was a Principal at Geocapital Partners, a venture capital
firm and a strategy consultant with the Monitor Group, where he led a range of
projects in New York, London and Tel Aviv. Mr. Shah is a CFA charterholder and
received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Williams College. 

Kinderhook Partners is a U.S. based investment partnership founded in 2003.
Kinderhook focuses on making long-term investments primarily in small cap
public companies. Kinderhook has a concentrated portfolio of investments in
companies they believe have the potential to grow substantially over at least a
three to five year period and in which the interests of management are closely
aligned with the interests of shareholders. 

Mr. Roger Hardy, Coastal's President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "We
are pleased to have Tushar join Coastal's Board at this important time in our
development. His experience helping guide high growth companies to market
leadership positions will be of great value to all shareholders. We have known
Tushar for several years and he has an excellent understanding of our
business." 

About Coastal Contacts:

Coastal Contacts Inc. is the world's leading direct-to-consumer vision products
company which designs, produces and distributes a diversified offering of
contact lenses and eyeglasses.  Coastal's unique combination of branded and
private label products represent quality, value and above all, service. 
Coastal sells into more than 150 countries through proprietary web properties
which reflect the culture and consumer preference of the target market.  As
markets for eyeglasses and contact lenses evolve, Coastal is positioned to
become the vision product consumer's retailer of choice owing to its compelling
value proposition combining value and service. A leader in many of its markets,
Coastal is rapidly advancing toward its goal of becoming the "World's Optical
Store". 

Forward Looking Statements

All statements made in this news release, other than statements of historical
fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "may", "would", "could",
"will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect",
"goal", "target", "should," "likely," "potential," "continue," "project,"
"forecast," "prospects," and similar expressions typically are used to identify
forward-looking statements. 

Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs,
assumptions, estimates and forecasts about our business and the industry and
markets in which we operate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are
difficult to predict. 

Persons reading this news release are cautioned that forward-looking statements
or information are only predictions, and that our actual future results or
performance may be materially different due to a number of factors. Reference
should also be made to the section entitled "Risk Factors" contained in our
most recently filed Annual Information Form dated January 29, 2010 and in the
NASDAQ OMX Stockholm listing prospectus dated October 14, 2009, as filed on
Sedar and with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, for a detailed
description of the risks and uncertainties relating to our business. These
risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary
significantly. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement. These forward-looking statements are
made as of the date of this news release and we expressly disclaim any intent
or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, unless we
specifically state otherwise and except as required by applicable law. 

CONTACT:  Coastal Contacts Inc.
          Terry Vanderkruyk, Vice President, Corporate Development
          604.676.4498
          terryv@coastalcontacts.com