Exhibit 99.1

Elder-Beerman Announces Discussions

    DAYTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2003--The Elder-Beerman
Stores Corp. (Nasdaq:EBSC) announced today that it has recently
received unsolicited expressions of interest relating to the possible
acquisition of the Company. After considering these expressions of
interest, the Company entered into a letter agreement with one of the
interested parties. Under this letter agreement, the Company and the
interested party will discuss, on an exclusive basis for a limited
period of time, the possible sale of the Company. The Company has
retained RBC Capital Markets to advise it in this process. There can
be no assurance that these discussions will result in any transaction
involving the Company.
    The nation's ninth largest independent department store chain, The
Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio and
operates 68 stores in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan,
Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In November 2003,
Elder-Beerman will expand operations to a ninth state with the opening
of its Muscatine, Iowa store. For more information about the company
see Elder-Beerman's web site at www.elder-beerman.com.
    This press release may contain "forward-looking statements,"
including predictions of future operating performance, events or
developments such as future sales, profits, expenses, income and
earnings per share. 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 actual future operations and results. Factors that could
materially affect performance include the following: increasing price
and product competition; fluctuations in consumer demand and
confidence, especially in light of current economic conditions; the
availability and mix of inventory; fluctuations in costs and expenses;
consumer response to merchandising strategies, advertising, marketing
and promotional programs; the timing and effectiveness of new store
openings, particularly the new concept store opened in April 2003 (De
Kalb, IL and the new store scheduled to open in November 2003
(Muscatine, IA; weather conditions that affect consumer traffic; the
continued availability and terms of bank and lease financing and trade
credit; the outcome of pending and future litigation; consumer energy
costs, debt levels and paydown rates on consumer debts, including
amounts owed to Elder-Beerman; the impact of new consumer bankruptcy
laws; inflation, interest rates and the condition of the capital
markets. National security threats and warnings in the wake of
September 11, 2001 and continued U.S. involvement in Iraq could
magnify some of those factors.
    Elder-Beerman undertakes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.

    CONTACT: The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp.
             Edward Tomechko, 937/296-2683
             Gloria Siegler, 937/296-7339