COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 7 /EMWNews/ -- Retail Ventures, Inc.

(NYSE: RVI) today announced that it has provided a notice of non-renewal of

the employment agreement with President and Chief Executive Officer Heywood

Wilansky. Mr. Wilansky is a Director of RVI and also a Director of its

majority-owned subsidiary DSW Inc. The basis for this decision is that,

following the Company's January 23, 2008 disposition of an 81% ownership

interest in its Value City Department Stores business, the Company

determined that the non-renewal of Mr. Wilansky's employment agreement will

contribute to cost savings objectives consistent with the Company's new

corporate structure. Pursuant to terms of Mr. Wilansky's employment

agreement his employment will terminate on January 31, 2009. The amounts

and components of compensation that Mr. Wilansky is entitled to receive in

connection with the non-renewal of his employment agreement are set forth

in his employment agreement, which was filed as an exhibit to the Company's

Amendment No. 1 to Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed on November 24, 2004.



    



    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.