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
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
,
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 ...
to
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