Elder beerman gift registry

Business Editors

DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2003

The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. (Nasdaq:EBSC) will celebrate the grand opening of its 69th store in Muscatine, Iowa with a ribbon cutting ceremony beginning at 7:50 A.M., on Thursday, October 23, 2003. The 43,500 square foot Muscatine store is located in the Muscatine Mall, 1903 Park Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa.

The Muscatine store carries a mix of fashion apparel, accessories and shoes for women, men, juniors, young men and children; and a complete line of cosmetics and fragrances, including Estee Lauder, Clinique and Lancome. In addition, the store offers a full assortment of home furnishings plus china, crystal and silver and features a bridal, baby and gift registry accessible both in the store and online at Elder-Beerman's website. Elder-Beerman designed its new stores to enhance the customer shopping experience through a convenient store layout and high-capacity fixturing, emphasizing Elder-Beerman's commitment to value, fashion, selection and customer service.

"Muscatine marks our 12th new format store and our first department store in Iowa. We are delighted to become a part of the Muscatine community," said Bud Bergren, Elder-Beerman's president and chief executive officer.

The nation's ninth largest independent department store chain, The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio and now operates 69 stores in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. For more information about the company see Elder-Beerman's web site at www.elder-beerman.com.