Ownership Submission
FORM 3
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Costa Jennifer E
2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
12/17/2018
3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
STAGE STORES INC [SSI]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
2425 WEST LOOP SOUTH
4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
SVP, General Counsel
5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

HOUSTON, TX 77027
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)
3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 6,096
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
2018 Restricted Stock Unit - 3/27/2018   (1)   (1) Common Stock 27,500 $ (2) D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Costa Jennifer E
2425 WEST LOOP SOUTH
HOUSTON, TX 77027
      SVP, General Counsel  

Signatures

/s/ R. E. Stasyszen, Attorney in Fact for Jennifer E. Costa 12/20/2018
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) The RSUs vest 25% per year on the first four anniversary dates from the grant date of March 27, 2018.
(2) Each restricted stock unit (RSU) represents the right to receive, at settlement, cash equal to the fair market value of one share of the Issuer's common stock on the vesting date. Upon vesting, each cash settlement shall not exceed five times the per share fair market value of the Issuer's common stock on the grant date multiplied by the number of RSUs vesting.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

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