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                              RETAIL VENTURES, INC.

                                  Exhibit 4(c)

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                                                                    EXHIBIT 4(c)

                              DESPOSITORY AGREEMENT
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         This Agreement is entered into as of this _____ day of July 1992,
between VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORES, INC. an Ohio corporation ("Value City"),
and IRWIN BAIN ("Escrow Agent").

         WHEREAS, on or about July ____, 1992, Value City and certain employees
of Value City entered into 1992 Bonus Share Agreements (the "Agreements"), a
form of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, whereby Value City agrees to
issue certain Value City common shares, without par value ("Shares") to these
employees according to the terms of the Agreements; and

         WHEREAS, Value City and Escrow Agent desire to escrow the certificates
evidencing the Shares, until such time as the restrictions set forth in the
Agreements are satisfied.

         NOW, THEREFORE, for valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency
of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

         1. Value City hereby appoints Irwin Bain, as General Counsel of
Schottenstein Stores Corporation, a Delaware corporation, or his successors, as
Escrow Agent, whose sole duties and responsibilities shall be to hold and
deliver the certificates evidencing the Shares in accordance with the terms of
the Agreements.

         2. Value City hereby delivers to Escrow Agent certificates evidencing
the Shares, and accompanying stock power appropriately endorsed for transfer in
blank.

         3. The Escrow Agent agrees to hold the Shares during the Restricted
Period (as defined in the Agreements), and to release the Shares either to the
employee or Value City in accordance with the terms of the Agreements.

         4. This Depository Agreement may not be waived, modified or amended
except by written instrument executed by all of the parties. This Agreement is
governed and construed in accordance with Ohio law and shall be binding upon,
and shall inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective
successors and assigns.

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         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have hereunto set their hands as of
the date first written above.

                                   VALUE CITY DEPARTMENT STORES, INC.

                                   By:
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                                   Its:
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                                   ESCROW AGENT

                                   By:
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                                       Irwin Bain<PAGE>

                              RETAIL VENTURES, INC.

                                  Exhibit 4(a)

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                                                                    EXHIBIT 4(a)

                              RETAIL VENTURES, INC.

                                 EMPLOYEE STOCK

                                  PURCHASE PLAN

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                    WHAT IS THE EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN?

     The Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) makes it easy for you to become a
shareholder of Retail Ventures, Inc. (RVI or the Company), and share in its
potential future growth and profitability. You now have the opportunity to
purchase RVI common stock through regular and convenient payroll deductions. By
doing so, you will be taking a significant step forward in setting up a
structured and systematic program that will benefit you and your family down the
road.

     Please keep in mind that your participation in the ESPP is entirely
voluntary and should be just one part of an overall, well-balanced investment
plan.

                         WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE?

     Only associates of RVI who have one year of service are 20 1/2 years old,
and work at least 1,000 hours.

                            HOW DOES THE ESPP WORK?

     Once you decide on the dollar amount you would like to invest each pay
period, RVI will regularly deduct those funds from your paycheck. That amount is
combined with all the dollars deducted from your fellow associates and is
forwarded to Merrill Lynch on a periodic basis. The funds are then used to
purchase Company stock.

     Merrill Lynch will open and maintain an individual securities account for
you when you enroll in the Plan. As soon as practicable after funds are received
by Merrill Lynch, RVI stock will be purchased for your account using the total
funds deducted from your pay the previous period.

     RVI will pay Merrill Lynch's fees for stock purchases made for your account
with payroll deductions pursuant to the Plan. Any fees for purchases not made
through payroll deductions or for sales will be payable directly by you in
connection with such transactions.

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          WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF THE EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN?

     There are many. For starters, it's convenient and it encourages investment.
After all, investing a specific amount of money every pay period is one of the
easiest ways to build your portfolio. Now with the ESPP, you simply select the
dollar amount you want deducted and the rest is automatic.

     The ESPP offers an affordable way to invest. You don't have to commit to
buy a specific number of shares of stock each pay period. Nor do you have to buy
whole shares. Just select the dollar amount you are most comfortable with, up to
$24.00 per week for hourly associates and $52.00 per pay period for salaried
associates. RVI will match 15% of your investment up to a maximum of $24.00 per
pay for hourly associates and $52.00 per pay for semi-monthly associates. All
deductions must be made in whole dollar amounts.

     Although no investment program is risk-free, our RVI plan can help cushion
you from market fluctuations through a long-term investment technique known as
dollar cost averaging. If you place a fixed amount of money regularly in the
same investment, you will buy more shares of stock when the price goes down and
fewer shares when it rises. Over the long run, your average cost per share will
be less than it would have been if you had bought a fixed number of shares each
time.

     Purchasing RVI stock through the payroll deduction plan also ensures that
100% of your money goes to work for you, because you pay no commissions or fees
for payroll deduction purchases. RVI pays them for you.

     Finally, you always have easy access to your account. You may sell all or
part of your RVI stock quickly and conveniently simply by calling a special
toll-free number.

                   WHAT WILL THE STOCK COST THROUGH THE PLAN?

     Stock prices fluctuate from day to day and even during the day, depending
on how much owners of

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a stock are willing to sell it for and how much buyers are willing to pay. Your
account will be credited with stock at the average market price of all shares
bought for all associates in the Plan for that period. Purchases may be made
over a period of days so as not to adversely affect the price of the stock.

                 HOW MUCH STOCK CAN I PURCHASE THROUGH THE PLAN?

     Merrill Lynch will credit your account with as many whole and fractional
shares of RVI stock as the funds forwarded to Merrill Lynch for your account
will allow. If the amount of money invested won't buy a whole share, your
account will be credited with a fractional share. For example, if you invest
$100.00 each month, and stock is purchased at $49.00 per share, your account
will be credited with 2.0408 shares.

         CAN I BUY ADDITIONAL SHARES OF COMPANY STOCK THROUGH THE PLAN?

     As a participant in the ESPP, you have a brokerage account with Merrill
Lynch through which you can purchase additional shares of Company stock other
than those purchased through payroll deductions. If you do wish to buy
additional shares of Company stock, simply send written instructions along with
a check directly to Merrill Lynch. Because you are an ESPP participant,
transaction fees and commissions are discounted from the regular Merrill Lynch
rates.

     Orders for additional stock are combined on a daily basis with all orders
received for that particular stock, and are executed in quantity by Merrill
Lynch on behalf of its clients who invest by the dollar amount in whole or
fractional shares. Orders are typically entered on the first business day
following acceptance of your order by Merrill Lynch, or as soon as practicable
thereafter. Shares purchased in the open market may be purchased over a period
of time. In this case, your price will be the average price of all shares
purchased for those clients over that period.

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               HOW DO I CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF MY PAYROLL DEDUCTION?

     You can notify RVI in writing to increase or decrease the amount of your
payroll deductions or discontinue payroll deductions entirely. There will be two
opportunities each year for associates to enroll in the Plan, April 1st and
October 1st. If you discontinue payroll deductions, you must stay out of the
Plan for one full year or the next enrollment period, whichever is later.

     If you notify RVI to stop payroll deductions, if you leave RVI, or if the
Plan is discontinued by RVI, your account with Merrill Lynch will remain open
unless you choose to close it. You can continue to buy and sell securities
through your Merrill Lynch brokerage account. (Different transactions fees and
an annual account fee may apply.)

     If you request that your account be closed, you can instruct Merrill Lynch
to sell your holdings and mail you a check for the net proceeds, or to deliver a
stock certificate for your whole shares along with a check for the net proceeds
from the sale of fractional shares. Transaction fees or commissions on sales and
other applicable charges such as certificate fees are payable by you.

     CAN I DIVERSIFY MY PORTFOLIO WITH OTHER INVESTMENTS IN MY ESPP ACCOUNT?

     Certainly. In fact, your ESPP account is a convenient way to add
diversification to your investment portfolio. You can purchase other securities
and assets, such as mutual funds, money market funds, CDs, stocks and even
precious metals in your ESPP account outside the plan. To do so, simply send
investment instructions along with a check directly to Merrill Lynch.
Transaction fees or commissions will be at rates discounted from the standard
Merrill Lynch rates. Call the toll-free number for more details on rates,
investment options, purchase minimums and prospectuses.

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                 WHAT RECORD OF MY TRANSACTIONS WILL I RECEIVE?

     Every quarter, you will receive a summary statement of your investments. It
will show you the current market value of the assets in your ESPP account as of
the last day of the quarter. In addition, it will detail all activity in your
account for the previous three months, listing the total number of whole and
fractional shares you have accumulated as well as the number of shares and the
price of each purchase, sale or dividend reinvestment. For your added
convenience, your statement of the fourth quarter of each year will also include
a special end-of-year summary.

     In addition, you will also receive a separate Tax Reporting Statement each
January with information to be used when preparing your income tax return. All
statements mailed to you by Merrill Lynch should be retained in a safe place.

  HOW DO I BENEFIT FROM HAVING MERRILL LYNCH HOLD MY STOCK IN MY ESPP ACCOUNT?

     As mentioned previously, you will receive a comprehensive statement every
quarter showing the amount of shares held in your ESPP account and their market
value. So you don't have to worry about keeping track of your investment. And
since Merrill Lynch holds your certificates, you won't be bothered with the cost
or effort of replacing any missing certificates. Stock certificates can be
requested at any time by writing to Merrill Lynch and will be issued subject to
a certificate fee. In addition, you may transfer to your Merrill Lynch account
for safe-keeping any certificates of RVI stock, or any other eligible security,
currently held by you. There is no charge for this service.

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  WHAT ADDITIONAL CORPORATE INFORMATION WILL I BE ENTITLED TO AS A SHAREHOLDER?

     As soon as you own one whole share of Company stock, you will generally
receive all material that is distributed by RVI for the benefit of its
shareholders. This includes such items as annual reports, interim reports and
proxy statements. When RVI distributes proxies, your whole shares are voted in
accordance with your written instructions duly delivered to Merrill Lynch.

              WHAT TYPE OF PROTECTION IS PROVIDED BY MERRILL LYNCH?

     Merrill Lynch is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation
(SIPC) so cash and securities held by Merrill Lynch for your account are
protected up to $500,000, of which $100,000 may be paid to satisfy claims for
cash balances. Merrill Lynch has obtained additional coverage from The Aetna
Casualty & Surety Company, bringing total coverage for cash and securities held
by Merrill Lynch for your account to $2.5 million (the $100,000 coverage limit
for cash remains).

 GET INFORMATION ON YOUR ACCOUNT AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON. CALL (800) 621-ESPP

     If you have a touch-tone telephone, you can obtain security positions and
their market value 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, simply by calling the
toll-free number and entering your 9-digit account number.

     To place buy or sell orders, or for any additional information, you can
reach a Merrill Lynch Client Service Representative Monday through Friday,
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.

             GET STARTED NOW ON THE ROAD TO A LIFETIME OF BENEFITS.

     Just complete the ESPP Enrollment Form today and return it to your Office
Manager. Please be sure you:

          Follow the instruction carefully.

          Fill out all sections.

          Sign your name in each of the places indicated.

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