EXHIBIT 99.1

Contact:

Shelley Boxer, V.P. Finance

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc.

(516) 812-1216

Investor Relations: Eric Boyriven/Bob Joyce

Press: Scot Hoffman

FD

(212) 850-5600

For Immediate Release

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC. REPORTS

FIRST QUARTER FISCAL YEAR 2008 RESULTS

- Earnings per diluted share increase to $0.70 -

Melville, NY, January 10, 2008 - MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC. (NYSE: MSM), “MSC” or the “Company,” one of the premier distributors of MRO supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States, today reported financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2008 ended December 1, 2007.

Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 were $437.6 million, an increase of 8.8% compared with net sales of $402.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2007.  Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2008increased 16.3% to $46.9 million, versus $40.3 million in the first quarter of the prior year.  Diluted earnings per share increased 16.7% to $0.70, based on 66.7 million shares outstanding in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, versus diluted earnings per share of $0.60, based on 67.7 million shares outstanding in the first quarter of fiscal 2007.

“Financial results for the first quarter were solid and in line with our expectations,” said David Sandler, President and Chief Executive Officer.  “We continued to make progress executing our overall growth strategy.  The integration of J&L has been successful, and we have made good progress on our plan to sell MSC products to our J&L customer base.  In addition, our West Coast initiative is making solid progress.  Our new sales offices in Seattle, Portland, and Salt Lake City are now open and this initiative continues to meet our goals.  We also remained very focused on managing our overall expense levels during the quarter, and as a result achieved strong operating margin performance.”

“Our overall financial performance for the first quarter was strong,” said Chuck Boehlke, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  “We executed on our plans, hitting our financial targets for the period.  Our tight control of operating expenses resulted in improved operating margins even as we continued to incrementally invest in our future at historically high levels.  Free cash flow (see Note 1) was $29.4 million for the quarter, and reflects steps we’ve taken to build inventory, primarily to ensure the best possible service experience for our customer base.  We utilized some of this free cash flow to repurchase an additional $24.4 million of our shares.  Going forward, we will remain focused on tight operating cost controls and on reducing inventory levels to more normalized levels by the end of the fiscal year.”

Mr. Sandler concluded, “As we move into the second quarter, our customers have told us that market conditions are mixed.  While there continue to be many pockets of strength, there is less optimism among our customer base in general and more concern over cost inflation, especially in raw materials and energy costs.  At the same time, the macroeconomic indicators we follow are also signaling the possibility of a slowing market.  In such an environment, customers are even more focused on controlling their costs and minimizing their MRO inventory levels, and MSC is in an excellent position to support them in these efforts based on our high service level model.  As a result, we believe we can continue to take market share and grow earnings while also prudently investing in our future to ensure that we are best positioned to take advantage of improvements in the marketplace as they occur.”

Based on current market factors, the Company expects net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 to be between $430 million and $436 million, which reflects growth over year ago levels despite the negative sales impact of the timing of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, which MSC believes reduced sales by approximately $4 million to $5 million in the period.  The Company expects diluted earnings per share for the fiscal 2008 second quarter to be between $0.68 and $0.70.

The management of MSC will host a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to review the Company’s results for the first quarter of fiscal 2008, and to comment on current operations. The call may be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.mscdirect.com.

Note 1 – Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less expenditures for property, plant and equipment.  Net cash flow provided by operating activities during the first quarter of fiscal 2008 was $32.0 million.  Expenditures for property, plant and equipment in fiscal 2008 were $2.6 million.  Management considers free cash flow to be an important indicator of the Company’s financial strength and the ability to generate liquidity because it reflects cash generated from operations that can be used for strategic initiatives, dividends, debt repayment and repurchases of the Company’s stock.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct is one of the premier distributors of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operation (MRO) supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States. MSC distributes in excess of 550,000 industrial products from approximately 3,000 suppliers to approximately 390,000 customers. In-stock availability is approximately 99%, with next day, standard ground delivery to the majority of the industrial United States. MSC reaches its customers through a combination of over 30 million direct-mail catalogs and CD-ROMs, 98 branch sales offices, 854 sales people, the Internet and associations with some of the world's most prominent B2B e-commerce portals. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.mscdirect.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. Statements in this Press Release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any statements contained herein which are not statements of historical facts and that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future shall be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy and some of which might not even be anticipated. Future events, actual results and performance, financial and otherwise, could differ materially from those set forth in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements herein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by MSC or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, without limitation, changing customer and product mixes, changing market conditions, industry consolidations, competition, general economic conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, rising commodity and energy prices, risk of cancellation or rescheduling of orders, work stoppages or other business interruptions (including those due to extreme weather

conditions) at transportation centers or shipping ports, the risk of war, terrorism and similar hostilities, dependence on the Company’s information systems and on key personnel, the outcome of potential government or regulatory proceedings or future litigation relating to pending or future claims, inquiries or audits, and various other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports.

(Tables Follow)

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands)

	December 1,  2007 (Unaudited)			September 1, 2007
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	5,093		$	7,797
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts		210,796			204,186
Inventories		357,940			338,366
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		22,216			20,748
Deferred income taxes		20,276			18,705
Total current assets		616,321			589,802
Property, plant and equipment, net		125,407			127,608
Goodwill		272,806			272,806
Identifiable intangibles, net		68,910			70,832
Other assets		12,499			14,279
Total Assets	$	1,095,943		$	1,075,327
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Revolving credit notes	$	10,000		$	--
Current maturities of long-term notes payable		36,035			33,471
Accounts payable		71,363			69,579
Accrued liabilities		71,668			70,237
Total current liabilities		189,066			173,287
Long-term notes payable		131,910			142,200
Deferred income tax liabilities		31,713			31,963
Total liabilities		352,689			347,450
Shareholders’ Equity:
Preferred Stock		--			--
Class A common stock		59			59
Class B common stock		18			18
Additional paid-in capital		413,360			408,996
Retained earnings		644,665			609,713
Accumulated other comprehensive income		921			694
Class A treasury stock, at cost		(315,769	)		(291,603	)
Total shareholders’ equity		743,254			727,877
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity	$	1,095,943		$	1,075,327

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

 (In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

	Thirteen Weeks Ended
	December 1, 2007			November 25, 2006
Net sales	$	437,554		$	402,012
Cost of goods sold		234,984			216,321
Gross profit		202,570			185,691
Operating expenses		124,600			116,485
Income from operations		77,970			69,206
Other Income (Expense) :
Interest expense		(2,464	)		(3,206	)
Interest income		239			276
Other income (expense), net		41			(21	)
Total other income (expense)		(2,184	)		(2,951	)
Income before provision for income taxes		75,786			66,255
Provision for income taxes		28,920			25,959
Net income	$	46,866		$	40,296
Per Share Information:
Net income per common share:
Basic	$	0.71		$	0.61
Diluted	$	0.70		$	0.60
Weighted average shares used in computing net income per common share:
Basic		65,617			66,480
Diluted		66,704			67,712
Cash dividends declared per common share	$	0.18		$	0.14

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

	Thirteen Weeks Ended
	December 1, 2007			November 25, 2006
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net income	$	46,866		$	40,296
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		6,731			6,237
Stock-based compensation		2,669			2,250
Provision for doubtful accounts		839			793
Deferred income taxes		(1,821	)		(707	)
Reclassification of excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation		(410	)		(440	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable		(7,293	)		186
Inventories		(19,390	)		(8,134	)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		(1,452	)		2,844
Other assets		1,749			2,833
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		3,484			10,597
Total adjustments		(14,894	)		16,459
Net cash provided by operating activities		31,972			56,755
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Business acquisition		--			(8,976	)
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment		(2,552	)		(6,349	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(2,552	)		(15,325	)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Purchase of treasury stock		(24,430	)		(31,264	)
Payment of cash dividends		(11,914	)		(9,377	)
Reclassification of excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation		410			440
Proceeds from sale of Class A common stock in connection with     associate stock purchase plan		534			569
Proceeds from exercise of Class A common stock options		977			864
Net proceeds under revolving loans from credit facility		10,000			--
Repayments of notes payable under the credit facility and other notes		(7,726	)		(39	)
Net cash used in financing activities		(32,149	)		(38,807	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		25			--
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents		(2,704	)		2,623
Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period		7,797			7,718
Cash and cash equivalents – end of period	$	5,093		$	10,341
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information:
Cash paid for income taxes	$	2,918		$	4,642
Cash paid for interest	$	2,746		$	2,021