SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549



                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934




                        DATE OF REPORT: February 5, 2004




                              RETAIL VENTURES, INC.
                              ---------------------
             (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)







                              3241 Westerville Road
                              Columbus, Ohio 43224
                                 (614) 471-4722
                                 --------------
               (ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER
                       INCLUDING AREA CODE OF REGISTRANT'S
                          PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES)


                                      None
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          (FORMER NAME OR FORMER ADDRESS, IF CHANGED SINCE LAST REPORT)










ITEM 7.   FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.

    (C)  EXHIBITS

     Exhibit No.                              Description
     -----------     -----------------------------------------------------------

        99.1*        Retail Ventures, Inc. press release dated February 5, 2004.


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     *  The press release is being "furnished" and not "filed," as described
        in Item 12 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.

ITEM 12.  RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.

     On February 5, 2004, Retail Ventures, Inc. (the "Company") issued a press
release regarding its total sales for the fifty-two weeks ended January 31,
2004. The Company also updated its earnings estimates for fiscal 2003. Pursuant
to General Instruction F of Form 8-K, a copy of the press release is furnished
as an exhibit to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. The
information in this Form 8-K, including the exhibit hereto, shall not be treated
as "filed" for purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

     Certain of the Company's statements contained or incorporated by reference
in this Form 8-K are not purely historical, and as such are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. These include statements regarding management's intentions, plans,
beliefs, expectations or projections of the future, and include statements
regarding forecasts and expectations of earnings and business for fiscal 2003
and fiscal 2004. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
including without limitation, the various risks inherent in the Company's
business, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the
Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Form 10-K for the year ended February 1, 2003 (filed May 1, 2003).
One or more of these factors have affected, and could in the future affect, the
Company's business and financial results in future periods, and could cause
actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. There can be no
assurance that the forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by
reference in this Form 8-K will prove to be accurate, and issuance of such
forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the
Company, or any other person, that the objectives and plans of the Company will
be achieved. All forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by
reference in this Form 8-K are based on information presently available to
management, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements.

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                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                        RETAIL VENTURES, INC.

Date: February 5, 2004                  By:  /s/ James A. McGrady
                                            ------------------------------------
                                        James A. McGrady, Executive Vice
                                        President and Chief Financial Officer


























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                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.                                  Description
-----------     ----------------------------------------------------------------

   99.1*        Retail Ventures, Inc. press release dated February 5, 2004.


   ------------

   * The press release is being "furnished" and not "filed," as described in
     Item 12 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.