Albert Boscov (September 22, 1929 – February 10, 2017) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the long-time head of
Boscov's
Boscov's Inc. is a family-owned department store with forty-nine locations in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Twenty-six of these stores are located in Pennsylvania.
Corporate headqu ...
Department Stores and served as the company's chairman and CEO until retiring in 2015. In 2009, Boscov led a buyout of his eponymous company in an effort to rescue it from bankruptcy. Boscov died on February 10, 2017 from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
.
Early life and education
Boscov was born in
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...
in 1929,
the son of immigrants Solomon and Ethel Boscov.
[Lehigh Valley Business News: "BOSCOV ON A READING REVIVAL Retail leader says the city can be renewed, and the blueprint includes housing, education and the arts"]
September 23, 2013 His father had arrived in Reading in 1911 where he founded a dry goods store in a row house in 1918.
Boscov graduated from
Reading High School and
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
. At Drexel, Boscov started his first business, a sandwich delivery service called U-Eat-Em. Boscov was a member of the
Sigma Alpha Mu
Sigma Alpha Mu (), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Though initially founded as a Jewish organization, the fraternity dropped its religious affiliation and became open to men of a ...
fraternity at Drexel. He served in the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. After military service, he returned to Reading and joined his father's business.
Career
After taking over the family business, Boscov expanded the original store at Ninth and Pike Streets in Reading. In 1962, he opened Boscov's West in
Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania
Sinking Spring is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,008 at the 2010 census. Sinking Spring was given its name for a spring located in the center of town. The water in this spring would sink into the grou ...
, the company's first full-line store. Boscov's North opened in
Muhlenberg Township, Pennsylvania
Muhlenberg Township (pronounced "MYOO-len-burg") is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 21,915 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populous township in Berks County after Spring Township and Exet ...
in 1965 and Boscov's East opened in
Exeter Township, Pennsylvania in 1967. During the 1970s and 1980s, Boscov and his brother-in-law, Edwin Lakin, expanded the chain to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. By 2005, Boscov's had 39 stores with $1 billion in sales.
In early 2006, Boscov retired as chairman, transferring control to his nephew, Ken Lakin, who soon after purchased ten department store locations from
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...
by borrowing heavily.
In August 2008, Boscov's filed for
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
, citing deteriorating consumer and credit conditions during the
economic crisis of 2008
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
. In October 2008, Albert Boscov and his brother-in-law Edwin Lakin both confirmed that they would be making a bid to purchase back the chain, competing against Versa Capital Management, Inc. On November 4, 2008, it was confirmed that Boscov's would be selling its assets back to Albert Boscov and Edwin Lakin, canceling the earlier agreement with Versa, and keeping the 98-year-old chain under family control. In March 2015, Boscov retired for the second time and handed control of the company to his nephew, Jim Boscov.
In 2010, ''Politics Magazine'' named Boscov one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania.
Boscov donated money to the
Penn State Berks
Penn State Berks is a commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University located in Spring Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
History
First known as Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Penn State Berks became part of the Penn State system i ...
campus for its library, and to Genesius Theatre for restoration and further improvement of its main-stage building in Reading. He also performed at Genesius Theatre as Tevye from ''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
'' at Genesius's "Broadway Musical Revue". Boscov was an
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
member of the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community of Reading.
Personal life
In 1959, he married Eunice, with whom he had three children: Ruth Aichenbaum (ne. Ruth Boscov) (married to Michael Aichenbaum); Ellen Boscov (married to Todd Taylor), and Meg Boscov (married to Randall Brown).
He died on February 10, 2017, from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
in Reading.
Legacy
On June 22, 2000, the section of
U.S. Route 422 Business and
U.S. Route 422 between
Pennsylvania Route 562 and Shelbourne Road in
Exeter Township, Pennsylvania, was designated by an act of the
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...
as the Albert Boscov Commemorative Highway in honor of Boscov.
In 2006, Boscov co-founded
Goggleworks Center for the Arts in downtown Reading, PA, renovating the former Wilson Goggle Factory into one of the largest art centers in the country. GoggleWorks was one of several development projects that he spearheaded to catalyze downtown revitalization in Reading. There he established the city’s Entertainment Square, which today features several anchor institutions along with restaurants and businesses, including an IMAX theatre, Miller Center for the Arts, GoggleWorks Apartment Complex, and Boscov Plaza, along with GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boscov, Albert
1929 births
2017 deaths
People from Reading, Pennsylvania
Drexel University alumni
Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
Jewish American philanthropists
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Pennsylvania Democrats
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American philanthropists
21st-century American Jews