Retail Ventures January Comps Increase 5.6%

Retail Ventures, Inc. saw total sales for January increase 10.5% to $153.1 million from $138.6 million for the same month last year. The company's same store sales increased 5.6% for the four week period.

Total sales for the fifty-two weeks ended January 28, 2006 increased 6.3% to $2.91 billion from $2.74 billion for the fifty-two weeks ended January 29, 2005. The company's same store sales increased 0.5% for the fifty-two week period.

Previously, the company had provided monthly comparable store sales results. Beginning in fiscal 2006, the Company will only announce comparable store results on a quarterly basis.

    Retail sales statistics are as follows:

                                        Four weeks ended ($ in thousands)
                                   January 28, 2006         January 29, 2005*
                                       $          %           $          %
   Total Sales
    Value City Department Stores     $62,754    41.0      $64,115       46.2
    DSW                               71,576    46.7       58,174       42.0
    Filene's Basement                 18,817    12.3       16,344       11.8
                                    $153,147   100.0     $138,633      100.0
   Comparable Sales Percentage
    Value City Department Stores                (0.4)%                  (1.5)%
    DSW                                         11.6 %                  13.0 %
    Filene's Basement                           12.0 %                  (3.9)%
                                                 5.6 %                   2.9 %

                                     Fifty-two weeks ended ($ in thousands)

                                   January 28, 2006         January 29, 2005*
                                     $           %             $          %
   Total Sales
    Value City Department Stores $1,379,975     47.4   $1,434,612       52.4
    DSW                           1,144,061     39.3      961,095       35.1
    Filene's Basement               389,335     13.3      343,924       12.5
                                 $2,913,371    100.0   $2,739,631      100.0
   Comparable Sales Percentage
    Value City Department Stores                (3.2)%                  (4.9)%
    DSW                                          5.4 %                   5.0 %
    Filene's Basement                            3.5 %                   4.7 %
                                                 0.5 %                  (1.0)%

     *Business segments were realigned at the beginning of fiscal 2005 to
      reflect how the company establishes strategic goals and manages the
      business. The realignment resulted in the Filene's Basement shoe
      business being included within the DSW segment.  The fiscal 2004
      presentation has been restated to conform with this realignment.

Retail Ventures, Inc. is a leading off-price retailer currently operating 113 Value City Department Stores in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S., 27 Filene's Basement Stores in the Northeast and 199 better-branded DSW stores in major metropolitan areas throughout the country. DSW also supplies, under supply arrangements, to 213 locations for other non-related retailers in the United States.