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Sarah Arkin/Register & Bee
Sales signs are seen Monday at Boscov’s in Danville. The company announced Monday it is filing for bankruptcy and Danville’s store is one of 10 that will close.
Published: August 4, 2008
Updated: August 4, 2008
Boscov’s Inc.’s decision to close its Danville department store within a few weeks could leave a huge void at Piedmont Mall.
The company announced Monday that it will file for bankruptcy and close 10 of its 49 stores.
Boscov’s spokeswoman Maralyn Lakin didn’t give a specific date for the closing of the Danville store when contacted Monday, but said it would be open for a few weeks while the company gets business in order.
On Monday, the store looked stocked, and almost every item was on sale.
The 87-year-old Reading, Pa.-based company cited current economic conditions as the primary reason for filing for Chapter 11 protection.
“The downturn in the overall economy and consumer spending along with the serious credit market crunch have put severe pressure on our company’s financial position,” Ken Lakin, chairman and CEO of Boscov’s, said in a written statement.
Depending on the time of year, the Boscov’s store in Danville employs anywhere between 130 and 150 people, store manager David Hick said Monday.
Boscov’s announced in May 2004 that it would bring a retail department store and an additional 62,000 square feet of retail space to Piedmont Mall with its two-story sales floor and third-floor storage space.
Several stores, including Victoria’s Secret, MasterCuts and Ben David Jewelers, relocated to make room for the expansion.
The department store officially opened in Danville in November 2005, making it the only Boscov’s location in the state.
Along with a slew of other stores and companies setting up shop in Danville in 2004 and 2005, the city’s economic development department offered Boscov’s an incentive package to open its doors at the Piedmont Mall.
Interim City Manager Lyle Lacy said Monday that the incentive package was to be doled out over a multi-year period that hasn’t yet been completed. Boscov’s had to pass certain benchmarks to get funds, he added.
The company had to employ 200 full-time and 100 part-time employees to get money, but never hit those numbers, Lacy said.
Economic Development Director Jeremy Stratton said he had no prior knowledge that the store was going to be closing, but had heard rumors.
“You always hate to see when you take a couple of steps forward and one step back,” Stratton said Monday.
Founded in 1911, Boscov’s describes itself as the largest family-owned, full-service U.S. department store chain, with 49 locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. It said it employs about 9,500 people and had sales of $1.25 billion in the year ended Feb. 2.
The company and seven affiliates filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. It had $538 million of assets and $479 million of liabilities as of May 3, a court filing shows.
Contact Sarah Arkin at or (434) 791-7983.
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Reader Reactions
The RETAIL HUB strategy that the city has embarked on is flawed and this is a perfect example of how.
Retail expansion is the RESULT of economic growth, not the CAUSE.
Sorry to see this store go, sorry that so many(more) will be out work…but not surprised at all.
I really hate to see a store of this quality and variety leave. With the economy like it is, I’m afraid several of those coming into Coleman Marketplace will also be short-lived.
I enjoyed shopping at Boscov’s.
I watched some of a tv show this morning and listened to some of the comments of the callers. One was from a former employee saying she was glad it was closing. She said when she was working there she only got a 10 cent raise. The way she was talking about the place my thinking was, did she deserve it. Maybe her attitude was bad and she did not perform well to get it?
I liked the products I purchased. I was treated well the times I shopped there and I hate to see the store go. At least for now, we still have online shopping.
I’m surprised that Boscov’s stayed this long. I had to return a Xmas gift and if it wasn’t for my Aunt who worked there at the time, I would have gotten the runaround.
I too am really sorry to see this happen, but felt it was just a matter of time. I used to live in Pennsylvania, home state of Boscov’s, and when I heard they were building their first Virginia store here in Danville, my reaction was huhhh?
Their prices and quality are outstanding, but you can go there any hour of the day and not be overwhelmed by the crowds, unlike our Walmart, which has aged twenty years in the few short ones it’s been here. There you go.
We were pleased when Boscov’s first opened and to actually have Mickey Rooney and his lovely wife perform. What a thrill !! Very sorry to see them close and more importantly feel for all the employees who will lose their jobs.
I too am very sorry to lose Boscov’s. It was one of my favorite stores, carrying brands I like at reasonable prices. It’s a shame this community didn’t do a better job of supporting it, but that seems to be the way Danville shoppers are. I hope we do a better job of keeping Target and Home Depot. We might pay a bit more at Target than at Walmart, but the product is much better, as it was at Boscov’s. Personally, I would rather pay a bit more to buy something that will last longer than to pay less for something that will fall apart or look terrible in a few months. And Home Depot gives us a classier alternative to Lowe’s for many home items, again for a bit more money, but it’s worth it.
I’m not surprised at this! They spent so much money building the store! It really is bad. I also heard that a jewelry store in the mall was closing. Things are really getting rough in the retail field!
It is a sad day in the life of Piedmont Mall, currently owned by General Growth Properties (GGP). I remember the day when Boscov came into town pressuring GGP to force the local merchant away, removing all eateries from the mainstream of pedestrian traffic, redirecting them to the food court, and directing GGP to spend millions in upgrages to the overall mall appearance and building the Boscov location, only to walk away with the Danvillian feeling slighted. Three years later, GGP and the Danville public are left with empty space and upset merchants. I hope such entities as GGP will think long and hard of anymore “sure-fired” guaranteed investments.
I never really shopped at Boscov’s, I considered it just another Belk’s. After watching the comings and goings for retail in Danville, its very obvious that the only store’s making a profit in your area is the pet and hardware stores….
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