Boscov's

Solomon "Sol" Boscov was of Jewish descent. He emigrated from Russia to Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1911.[3] He had $1.37 in cash (equal to $43.03 today) on arrival in the United States.[3] He worked as a traveling salesman with an initial $8 worth of merchandise. Because he spoke Yiddish, he was able to converse with people in Berks County who spoke Pennsylvania Dutch.[3] Boscov's fortunes changed in 1914 when he opened the first Boscov's store at 9th and Pike streets in Reading.[4][5] A Pennsylvania Historical Marker commemorating Solomon Boscov stands at the site of the original store.[6]

Boscov's began expanding in the Reading suburbs during the 1960s, with the Boscov's West store in Sinking Spring opening in November 1962 and the Boscov's North store at the Reading Fairgrounds in Muhlenberg Township opening in August 1965. The Boscov's East store along 9th Street in Reading was destroyed by fire in February 1967 and was replaced by a new Boscov's East store in Exeter Township in November 1967. The Boscov's West store was destroyed by fire in November 1967 and reopened in November 1968.[7]

By 1968, Boscov's had five stores, 2,200 workers, and annual sales exceeding $50 million.[8] Solomon Boscov retired and was succeeded by his son Albert "Albie" Boscov as head of the company in 1960.[8][9] The first Boscov's location outside of Berks County opened at the Lebanon Valley Mall in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in August 1972.[7] Boscov's bought Fowler, Dick and Walker, the Boston Store in 1980. One of Wilkes-Barre's last remaining downtown department stores, it was also Boscov's first multi-story store.[10][11]

Boscov's opened its first location outside of Pennsylvania at the Dover Mall in Dover, Delaware, in August 1982.[7] Boscov's first entered the Philadelphia market in the late 1980s by opening Ports of the World stores.[12] These stores would later be re-branded as Boscov's sometime in the mid-1990s.

In 1983, Boscov's leased the Fowler's department store building and opened the next year in downtown Binghamton, New York.[13]

In August 2002, Boscov's opened a store at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, replacing a Strawbridge's store.[7] As a result, the Boscov's West store in Sinking Spring closed.[14]

In 2006, Albert Boscov, the son of Solomon Boscov, retired and his nephew Kenneth Lakin became chairman and chief executive. Lakin led an aggressive expansion of the chain, opening 10 new stores by 2008. Boscov's acquired these locations from Federated Department Stores following the merger with The May Department Stores Company.[7] The new stores opened just prior to the 2008 economic downturn and in August 2008, Boscov's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[15] Albert Boscov came out of retirement and regained control of the company. As part of the bankruptcy, 10 stores were shuttered, some of which were reopened.[16] The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2009.[17]

Albert Boscov died from pancreatic cancer on February 10, 2017, at the age of eighty-seven.[18] The chain is now headed by his nephew, Jim Boscov.[2]

Boscov's continuing success makes it regarded as somewhat of an "outlier" because many department store retailers had begun pulling back to a degree on brick-and-mortar formats. Boscov's saw record sales of $1.2 billion in 2017. Since 2009, the chain continues to expand and opened its 47th store in Milford, Connecticut, in October 2018. Boscov's plans to continue to open one store per year and has invested in older stores by renovating them.[2] Boscov's announced plans to move into the Providence Place mall in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2019.[19] The store opened on September 26, 2019.

In 2020, Boscov's announced plans to open at Eastwood Mall in Niles, Ohio.[20] The store opened on October 7, 2021, a year late due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Boscov's announced that a store will open at the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport, West Virginia, in the later part of the year; this will be Boscov's 50th store and first location in the state.[21]The 50th store located in West Virginia opened on October 7, 2023.

During the 1970s, Boscov's launched its "Friends Helping Friends" program, an annual fundraising event which has raised roughly a million dollars each year for non-profit organizations.[22][23]

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

Boscov's is mentioned in the Season 3 episode Kimmy Steps on a Crack! of the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.[26]

It is also mentioned in NBC's The Office, Season 5, Episode 25, “Casual Friday”.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boscov's.

• Official website