Total sales for Retail Ventures, Inc. for the four weeks ended May 28, 2005, increased 3.7% to $228.7 million from $220.5 million for the four weeks ended May 29, 2004. The company's same store sales decreased 3.2% for the four week period. DSW May sales increased 14.5% to $100.5 million from $87.8 million last year. Comp sales for DSW inched up 0.2% after am 8.1% increase last May.

Total sales for the seventeen weeks ended May 28, 2005, increased 4.8% to $908.7 million from $866.8 million for the seventeen weeks ended May 29, 2004. The company's same store sales decreased 2.7% for the seventeen week period. DSW YTD sales increased 19.3% to $382.3 million from $320.4 million in the year-ago period. Comparable store sales were up 3.3% on top of last year's 10.2% gain.


    Retail sales statistics are as follows:

                                   Four weeks ended ($ in thousands)
                               May 28, 2005              May 29, 2004*
                              $            %            $            %
    Total Sales
      Value City Department
        Stores             $97,251         42.5     $105,037         47.7
      DSW                  100,490         44.0       87,795         39.8
      Filene's Basement     30,909         13.5       27,640         12.5
                          $228,650        100.0     $220,472        100.0

    Comparable Sales Percentage
      Value City Department
        Stores                             (6.7)%                    (3.7)%
      DSW                                   0.2 %                     8.1 %
      Filene's Basement                     0.4 %                    11.3 %
                                           (3.2)%                     1.9 %

                                   Seventeen weeks ended ($ in thousands)
                               May 28, 2005              May 29, 2004*
                              $            %            $            %
    Total Sales
      Value City Department
        Stores            $408,706         45.0     $445,029         51.3
      DSW                  382,296         42.1      320,417         37.0
      Filene's Basement    117,693         12.9      101,326         11.7
                          $908,695        100.0     $866,772        100.0

    Comparable Sales Percentage
      Value City Department
        Stores                             (7.7)%                    (1.7)%
      DSW                                   3.3 %                    10.2 %
      Filene's Basement                     1.6 %                    14.1 %
                                           (2.7)%                     3.6 %

    * 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.