<PAGE>


                                                                      Exhibit 31
                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Stuart A. Rose, certify that:

          1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of REX Stores
Corporation;

          2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

          3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

          4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the
registrant and have:

               (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
          such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
          supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
          registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
          us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
          which this report is being prepared;

               (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
          caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed
          under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
          reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
          statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
          accounting principles;

               (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
          controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
          about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
          of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
          evaluation; and

               (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
          registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
          fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
          affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
          registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and







<PAGE>




          5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):

               (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
          design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which
          are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
          record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

               (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
          or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting.


                                         Date: June 6, 2005

                                         STUART A. ROSE
                                         Stuart A. Rose
                                         Chairman of the Board, President and
                                         Chief Executive Officer











<PAGE>



                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Douglas L. Bruggeman, certify that:

          1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of REX Stores
Corporation;

          2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

          3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

          4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the
registrant and have:

               (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
          such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
          supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
          registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
          us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
          which this report is being prepared;

               (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
          caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed
          under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
          reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
          statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
          accounting principles;

               (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
          controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
          about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
          of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
          evaluation; and

               (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
          registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
          fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
          affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
          registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and








<PAGE>




          5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):

               (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
          design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which
          are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
          record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

               (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
          or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting.

                                    Date: June 6, 2005

                                    DOUGLAS L. BRUGGEMAN
                                    Douglas L. Bruggeman
                                    Vice President, Finance, Treasurer and
                                    Chief Financial Officer