Coastal Contacts Receives Canada's Top 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures Award

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 19, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Contacts
Inc. (TSX:COA) (Stockholm:COA) ("Coastal Contacts"or "Coastal"), the leading
online retailer of contact lenses and prescription eyeglasses and its Canadian
subsidiary Clearly Contacts.ca, today announced that it had been selected as
one of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures of 2010. Coastal was honored
in the Best Emerging Organization category by the Waterstone Group. 

"We are honored to be included in the Waterstone Group list as one of Canada's
Top 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures," stated Roger Hardy, Coastal's Founder
and CEO. "Our success at Coastal is directly linked to our ability to attract
and retain the highest calibre employees who share our vision of changing the
way the world buys glasses and contacts. Culture is a key ingredient in keeping
our performance oriented team aligned as we continue to scale and this award is
a great achievement for our group." 

Canada's Top 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures of 2010 are:

Aeroplan LP

Blinds to Go Inc.

Canadian Western Bank

Desjardins Group

Discount Car and Truck Rentals

Flight

HOOPP - Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan

Maple Leaf Foods

Procter & Gamble Canada

The Home Depot Canada

Two organizations were chosen in special categories:

Special Category National Award - Best Emerging Organization:

Coastal Contacts Inc/Clearly Contacts.ca

Special Category National Award - Broader Public Sector:

The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation

About Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™:

Since 2005, the Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™ program has
recognized leading Canadian organizations for having a culture that has helped
them enhance performance and sustain a competitive advantage. This popular
program begins in the spring of each year with the Canadian Corporate Culture
Study™ and culminates in regional and national awards events. Canada's 10 Most
Admired Corporate Cultures ™ is founded and presented by Waterstone Human
Capital, a leading professional recruitment, executive search and human
resource consulting services firm based in Toronto. For more information on the
award visit www.canadasmostadmired.com 

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 new
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. 

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. Examples of forward looking statements in this press
release include but are not limited to statements relating to the number of new
customers who will return to purchase products from us in the future and our
future marketing plans. 

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