Boscov's Inc. is a family-owned

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

with over fifty locations in

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Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Twenty-six of the stores are located in Pennsylvania. Corporate headquarters are located in Exeter Township, Pennsylvania, near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. The company chairman is Jim Boscov, who took over after his uncle Albert Boscov retired.

History

Solomon "Sol" Boscov was of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. He emigrated from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

, in 1911.Charles Schuyler Castner. ''Berksiana''. 1976, p.321. He had $1.37 in cash (equal to $ today) on arrival in the United States. He worked as a traveling salesman with an initial $8 worth of merchandise. Because he spoke

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

, he was able to converse with people in Berks County who spoke

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

. Boscov's fortunes changed in 1914 when he opened the first Boscov's store at 9th and Pike streets in Reading. A Pennsylvania Historical Marker commemorating Solomon Boscov stands at the site of the original store. Boscov's began expanding throughout suburban Reading in the 1960s, with Boscov's West in Sinking Spring opening in 1962 and Boscov's North at the Reading Fairgrounds in Muhlenberg Township in 1965. Boscov's East along 9th Street in Reading was destroyed by fire in February of 1967 and was replaced by a new Boscov's East in Exeter Township nine months later. Boscov's West was destroyed by fire in November of 1967 and reopened twelve months later. By the end of 1968, Boscov's had five stores, 2,200 workers, and annual sales exceeding $50 million.Berksiana. Charles Schuyler Castner. 1976. Page 323 Solomon Boscov retired and was succeeded by his son Albert "Albie" Boscov as the head of the company in 1960. The first Boscov's outside of Berks County opened at the Lebanon Valley Mall in

Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon was founded by George Steitz in 1740 and was originally named ...

, in 1972. Boscov's bought Fowler, Dick and Walker, the Boston Store in 1980. One of Wilkes-Barre's last remaining downtown department stores, it was Boscov's first multi-story store. Boscov's opened its first location outside Pennsylvania at the Dover Mall in

Dover, Delaware Dover ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and the List of municipalities in Delaware, second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, Delaware, Kent County and the princ ...

, in 1982. Boscov's entered the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

market directly in the late 1980s by opening Ports of the World stores which were re-branded as Boscov's in the 1990s. In 1983, Boscov's leased the dormant Fowler's building in downtown

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

; this store, with five retail floors, is the flagship of the Boscov's chain. In 2002, Boscov's opened at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, replacing a

Strawbridge's Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban empori ...

store. As a result, Boscov's West in Sinking Spring closed. In 2006, Albert Boscov retired and his nephew Kenneth Lakin became chairman and chief executive. Lakin led an aggressive expansion, opening ten new stores by 2008. Boscov's acquired these locations from

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

following its merger with

The May Department Stores Company The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...

. The new stores opened just prior to the 2008 economic downturn and 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, w ...

. Albert Boscov came out of retirement and regained control of the company. As part of the bankruptcy, the new stores were shuttered, although two were later reopened. The company emerged from bankruptcy in September of 2009. Albert Boscov died 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 ...

in 2017 at the age of 87. The chain is now headed by his nephew, Jim Boscov. Boscov's continuing success makes it regarded as somewhat of an "outlier" because many department store retailers have been pulling back on brick-and-mortar formats. Boscov's saw record sales of $1.2 billion in 2017. Since 2009, the chain continues to expand and plans to continue to open one store per year while investing in existing stores by renovating them. Their strategy typically involves taking over spaces previously occupied by

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

and

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

. Boscov's moved into the Providence Place mall in downtown

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

in 2019. In 2021, Boscov's opened at Eastwood Mall in

Niles, Ohio Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,443 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek Lake, Mosquito Creek, Niles is a suburb in the Ma ...

a year later than planned due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Boscov's 50th store, and the first to be located in West Virginia, opened in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

in 2023. In 2025, Boscov’s announced their 51st store will open in the autumn of 2025 at The Mall at Greece Ridge in Rochester.

Civic affairs and charitable giving

During the 1970s, Boscov's launched its "Friends Helping Friends" program, an annual fundraising event which raises $1 million per year for non-profit organizations.

Jazz festival

Boscov's sponsors the annual "Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest" which draws an estimated 40,000 people to Reading each year.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

When

Gimbels Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the comp ...

went out of business in 1986,

WPVI-TV WPVI-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned and operated by the ABC television network through its ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on City Avenue in t ...

and Boscov's took over the sponsorship of the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade. Boscov's remained as co-sponsor for over twenty years.

In popular culture

The Boscov's in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania was used to represent the fictional department store Illustra in the 1987 film ''

Mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...

''. Boscov's is mentioned in the Season 3 episode ''Kimmy Steps on a Crack!'' of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

comedy series '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt''. Boscov's is also mentioned in NBC's ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'', Season 5, Episode 25, “Casual Friday”. Boscov’s is also mentioned in Netflix’s

Tires A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over w ...

, Season 2, Episode 03, “Inspection”.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1914 establishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1914 Clothing retailers of the United States Companies based in Reading, Pennsylvania Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008 Department stores of the United States Economy of the Northeastern United States Family-owned companies of the United States Privately held companies based in Pennsylvania Retail companies based in Pennsylvania Retail companies established in 1914