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                                                               Exhibit (a)(5)(E)

                                                                       NEWS
[ELDER-BEERMAN LOGO]                                                   RELEASE

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       3155 El-Bee Rd. o Box 1448 o Dayton, OH 45401-1448 o 937-296-2700
                               o FAX 937-296-4625



                                                      FOR MORE INFORMATION:
                                                      Scott J. Davido
                                                      Executive Vice President,
                                                      Chief Financial Officer
                                                      (937) 296-2683


                      ELDER-BEERMAN ANNOUNCES FINAL RESULTS
                              OF SELF-TENDER OFFER

         DAYTON, OHIO, OCTOBER 12, 2000 -- The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp.
(NASDAQ: EBSC) today announced the final results of its self-tender offer, which
expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on Thursday October 5, 2000.
Elder-Beerman commenced the tender offer on September 8, 2000 to purchase up to
3,333,333 shares of its common stock at a price between $4.50 and $6.00 per
share, net to the seller in cash, without interest.

         Based on the final count by the depositary for the tender offer,
Elder-Beerman accepted for payment under applicable securities laws 3,462,363
shares, representing approximately 23.2 percent of the outstanding shares, at a
purchase price of $5.00 per share. All shares properly tendered at or below
$5.00 were accepted for payment, and proration of such shares will not be
necessary. Payment for the shares accepted for purchase and return of all other
shares tendered but not accepted for payment will occur promptly by the
depositary. As a result of completing the tender offer, Elder-Beerman will have
approximately 11,437,326 shares of common stock outstanding.

         The dealer-manager for tender offer was Wasserstein Perella & Co.

         The nation's ninth largest independent department store chain, The
Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio and operates 62
department stores in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky,
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Elder-Beerman also operates two furniture
superstores. Elder-Beerman has announced it will open a new concept store in
Jasper, Indiana in November of 2000.

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This press release contains "forward-looking statements," which are identified
by words such as "expects," "intends," and variations of such words and similar
expressions. 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 affect Elder-Beerman's actual future operations
and results, including the following: changes in its stock price; changes in
operating results; the continued availability and terms of financing; and other
general economic conditions that affect retail operations and sales, such as
increasing price and product competition; fluctuations in consumer demand and
confidence; the availability and mix of inventory; fluctuations in costs and
expenses; the effectiveness of merchandising strategies, advertising, marketing
and promotional programs; the ability of the company to achieve its expense
cutting initiatives; the timing and effectiveness of new store openings; the
growing 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; 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.

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