BOSCOV'S CEO has warned about the importance of its brand new store's success.
Jim Boscov believes those who share a neighborhood with the brick-and-mortar store are familiar with its longstanding brand - and other stores are being cleared to make room for it.
Boscov's department store announced the opening of its 50th retail store in this year.
CEO Jim Boscov made the public statement in Bridgeport, West Virginia, the location of the new store.
"It’s exciting: Our 50th store in a wonderful market, and it’s part of our plan to open one store per year," Boscov said, according to the Delco Times.
"We talked about it, investigated it and visited to make sure this would be a good market for us because at 50 stores you can’t afford to make a mistake."
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This premiere West Virginia location adds a ninth to the list of states with Boscov's stores, Delco Times explained.
Boscov predicts brand familiarity in their new outlet's hometown.
"One thing that is attractive is that maybe 50 percent of the people in that market have heard of Boscov’s and maybe 25 percent of them have already shopped at a Boscov’s.
"We’re not moving into a place where they don’t know who and what we are."
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Their big move is in Bridgeport's Meadowbrook Mall, into a space that used to be a Sears.
Boscov's requires such a large space for its retail operations that other stores in the mall are being moved to make room for the incoming department store.
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The chain runs locations in the following states:
States with Boscov's Department Stores
The following states have Boscov's:
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- New York
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
More than half of these stores are in Pennsylvania alone.
Prior to this, Boscov's got a Youngstown, Ohio store that opened in October 2021.
No store was opened the following year, but their initiative to open a store yearly still stands.
The 2024 location has not been announced yet.
"We don’t want to go hopscotching across the country," Boscov said of their future retail centers.
"And we need to find a location that’s big enough because we don’t have a little store. So we’re always looking."
The chain is seeing it's 109th year of family ownership, their centennial success is thanks in part to their keeping the company private.
"If you’re a private family company, you’re working to make sure you keep the company healthy with the expectation of passing it on to the next generation.
"That also means making good decisions for the health of the company, which translates into things that are good for your customers.
"You’re working for your customers, you’re not working for the stockholders."
Boscov suggests that other retail giants will make "silly" business moves on behalf of the stock market, not necessarily of their own volition.
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"I think people are cautious, and when people are cautious, they want to make sure their money goes as far as it can,” he said.
"And as long as we stay true to who we are, I think we will continue to do well."
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