Elder-Beerman Names Byron ``Bud'' Bergren President and CEO.

Business Editors

DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2002

The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. (Nasdaq:EBSC) Board of Directors has appointed Byron "Bud" Bergren, age 55, to serve as the company's president and chief executive officer, reporting to the new non-executive chairman of the board, Steven C. Mason, beginning February 11, 2002. Bergren will also serve as a director of the company.

Bergren comes to Elder-Beerman from Belk Inc., where he has been running the 46-store Belk southern division as chairman or president for the past ten years. He has held positions of increasing responsibility at Belk since 1985, including Corporate Senior Vice President in charge of sales promotion and marketing; Senior Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing for the Belk Charlotte division; and Senior Vice President, Director of Stores for the Belk Charlotte division. Before that he worked for Burdines, a division of Federated Department Stores, in Miami, Florida.

"Elder-Beerman has a solid reputation in its markets and I am honored to assume its leadership," stated Bergren. "The company has an outstanding associate team and strong relationships with its customers and vendors. I see a tremendous opportunity to build on successes Elder-Beerman has already achieved to create greater shareholder value."

Steve Mason, non-executive chairman of the board, commented, "Bud was the board's first choice out of a national pool of quality candidates. He has a significant track record of raising the level of performance in his division at Belk, and more than three decades of experience in our industry. We believe Bud is the right person to take Elder-Beerman to the next level of performance."

The nation's ninth largest independent department store chain, The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio and operates 66 stores in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Elder-Beerman also operates two furniture galleries. For more information about the company see Elder-Beerman's web site at www.elder-beerman.com.

Please note: This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements," including predictions of future operating performance, events or developments such as our future sales, profits, expenses, income and earnings per share. In addition, words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "hopes," and "estimates," and variations of such words and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Because forward-looking statements are based on a number of beliefs, estimates and assumptions by management that could ultimately prove inaccurate, there is no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Many factors could materially affect Elder-Beerman's actual future operations and results. The national tragedy of September 11, 2001 and subsequent terrorism threats could magnify some of those factors. Factors that could materially affect performance include the following: increasing price and product competition; fluctuations in consumer demand and confidence, especially in light of the current general economic downturn; the availability and mix of inventory; fluctuations in costs and expenses; consumer response to the company's merchandising strategies, advertising, marketing and promotional programs; the effectiveness of management; the timing and effectiveness of new store openings, particularly its new concept stores opened in the Fall season of 2001 (DuBois, PA, Alliance, OH and Kohler, WI) and to be opened in Spring Season 2002 (Coldwater, MI); the impact of electronic commerce; weather conditions that affect consumer traffic in stores; the continued availability and terms of financing; the outcome of pending and future litigation; consumer debt levels; the impact of any new consumer bankruptcy laws; inflation and interest rates and the condition of the capital markets.

Elder-Beerman undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.