Coastal Names Interim CEO to Lead European Operation

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 3, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Contacts
Inc. (TSX:COA) (Stockholm:COA) ("Coastal Contacts"), the leading online
retailer of contact lenses and prescription eyeglasses, today announced that it
has named Bo Wanghammar as Interim CEO of its wholly owned European subsidiary,
Lensway . 

In 1994 Mr. Wanghammar co-founded and became CEO of Algonet AB, Sweden's first
independent Internet service provider (ISP). By 1997 Algonet had grown to a
base of 115,000 customers and had 120 employees. The company was sold to
Telenordia. 

Most recently Mr. Wanghammar held the position of COO with Bwin Games AB, the
Swedish subsidiary of the world's largest publicly listed online gaming
company.   Bwin Games AB has a complement of approximately 400 staff and Mr.
Wanghammar had primary responsibility for product and systems development. 

Prior to Bwin Games AB, Mr. Wanghammar held the position of CFO/COO with Metro
Sweden, a leading newspaper group.   His responsibilities included finance,
legal, HR, IT, premises and production. In addition, Mr. Wanghammar has held
senior management and consulting positions in a variety of successful internet,
telecom and technology enterprises. 

"We are pleased to have Bo join our team and lead the Lensway operation.   His
background in consumer focused high growth businesses is ideally suited as we
transition to the next level of market penetration and brand awareness," stated
Mr. Roger Hardy, Coastal's President and CEO. "Lensway is the leading online
provider of optical products in Europe and we are excited to extend that market
position by aggressively entering new markets and broadening our product
offering." 

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.  The Company'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, the Company 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