Retail Ventures Sees Comps Slip 2.0% for Sept.

Retail Ventures, Inc. announced total sales for the five weeks of fiscal September, increased 4.1% to $269.1 million from $258.5 million for the five weeks ended October 2, 2004. Comparable store sales decreased 2.0% for the five week period.

Total sales for the thirty-five weeks ended October 1, 2005, increased 4.9% to $1.83 billion from $1.75 billion for the thirty-five weeks ended October 2, 2004. The company's same store sales decreased 1.8% for the thirty- five week period.

    Retail sales statistics are as follows:



                                        Five weeks ended ($ in thousands)
                                    October 1, 2005         October 2, 2004*
                                       $         %          $              %
    Total Sales
      Value City Department Stores $118,481    44.0     $125,189         48.4
      DSW                           111,920    41.6       99,051         38.3
      Filene's Basement              38,699    14.4       34,275         13.3
                                   $269,100   100.0     $258,515        100.0

    Comparable Sales Percentage
      Value City Department Stores           (4.8)%                    (9.7)%
      DSW                                     1.1 %                    (4.9)%
      Filene's Basement                       0.4 %                    (2.9)%
                                             (2.0)%                    (7.3)%


                                    Thirty-five weeks ended ($ in thousands)
                                     October 1, 2005        October 2, 2004*
                                       $         %          $              %
    Total Sales
      Value City Department Stores $841,411    45.9     $898,377         51.5
      DSW                           747,632    40.8      635,880         36.4
      Filene's Basement             243,222    13.3      211,620         12.1
                                 $1,832,265   100.0   $1,745,877        100.0

    Comparable Sales Percentage
      Value City Department Stores           (5.8)%                    (4.8)%
      DSW                                     3.0 %                     4.5 %
      Filene's Basement                       1.6 %                     6.4 %
                                             (1.8)%                    (0.8)%

     * 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 currently operating 114 Value City Department Stores in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S., 27 Filene's Basement Stores in the Northeast and 190 better-branded DSW stores in major metropolitan areas throughout the country. DSW also supplies, under supply arrangements, to 210 locations for other non-related retailers in the United States.