Retail Ventures, Inc. Reports First Quarter Operating Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Retail Ventures, Inc. today announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended May 3, 2008.

  -- Total sales for the three months ended May 3, 2008 increased 0.1% to
     $466.3 million from $465.8 million for the three months ended May 5,
     2007. The Company's same store sales decreased 4.3% for the comparable
     three months.


                                        Three months ended
                                      May 3,          May 5,
                                       2008            2007
                                          (in thousands)
  Total Sales:
    DSW                             $ 366,264        $356,997
    Filene's Basement                 100,020         108,842
                                     $466,284        $465,839

  Comparable Sales Percentage:
    DSW                                 (5.4)%          (3.6)%
    Filene's Basement                   (0.2)%           1.6 %
                                        (4.3)%          (2.4)%


  -- The income from continuing operations for the quarter was $32.8
     million, or $0.63 per share on a diluted basis, compared to an income
     from continuing operations of $13.1 million, or $0.22 per share on a
     diluted basis last year.

The Company believes the non-cash accounting reduction of expenses associated with the change in fair value of derivative instruments is not directly related to its retail operations and is therefore providing supplemental adjusted results that exclude this item. This non-GAAP financial measure should facilitate analysis by investors and others who follow the Company's financial performance. A reconciliation of non-GAAP results follows:

                                       Three months ended
                                     May 3,           May 5,
                                      2008             2007
                                         (in thousands)
  Operating profit:
    Non-GAAP operating profit        $ 8,735          $28,479
    Increase in fair value of
     derivative instruments           37,168           12,549
    GAAP operating profit            $45,903          $41,028



                                              Three months ended
                                            May 3,           May 5,
                                             2008             2007
                                    (in thousands, except per share amounts)
  (Loss) income from
   continuing operations:
    Non-GAAP (loss) income from
     continuing operations                  $(4,396)            $553
    Increase in fair value of
     derivative instruments                  37,168           12,549
    GAAP income from continuing
     operations                             $32,772          $13,102

  Diluted (loss) earnings per share
   from continuing operations:
    Non-GAAP diluted (loss) earnings
     per share from continuing
     operations                              $(0.09)           $0.01
    Increase in fair value of
     derivative instruments                    0.72             0.21
    GAAP diluted earnings per share
     from continuing operations               $0.63            $0.22

On January 23, 2008, Retail Ventures, Inc. disposed of an 81% ownership interest in its Value City operations. The results of the Value City operations during the quarter ended May 5, 2007 are presented in discontinued operations in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Retail Ventures, Inc. is a leading off-price retailer operating as of May 3, 2008, 36 Filene's Basement stores in major metropolitan areas in the northeastern and midwestern United States and 269 DSW stores in major metropolitan areas throughout the country. DSW also supplies shoes, under supply arrangements, to 348 locations for other non-related retailers in the United States and operates an e-commerce site, DSW.com.

Webcast and Conference Call

To hear the Company's live first quarter earnings conference call, log on to http://www.retailventuresinc.com/ at 5:00 p.m. ET on June 11, 2008. To hear a replay of the earnings call, which will be available approximately four hours after the conference call ends, dial 866-551-4520, followed by pin number 228615#. An audio replay of the conference call, as well as additional financial information, will also be available at http://www.retailventuresinc.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Any statements in this release that are not historical or current facts are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our future financial performance in fiscal 2008 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are described in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's latest quarterly or annual report, as filed with the SEC. These factors include, but are not limited to: our success in opening new stores and operating stores on a timely and profitable basis; maintaining good relationships with our vendors; our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends; fluctuation of our comparable store sales and quarterly financial performance; impact of the disposition of a majority interest in Value City and the reliance on remaining subsidiaries to pay indebtedness and shared service obligations; the risk of Value City deciding to discontinue operations or otherwise not pay its creditors; disruption of our distribution operations; our dependence on DSW for key services; the success of DSW's e-commerce business; failure to retain our key executives or attract qualified new personnel; our competitiveness with respect to style, price, brand availability and customer service; declining general economic conditions; liquidity risks related to our investments; risks inherent to international trade with countries that are major manufacturers of apparel and footwear; and security risks related to the electronic processing and transmission of confidential customer information. Additional factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations are described in the Company's latest annual or quarterly report, as filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any future events or circumstances.