Should Boscov's be saved? (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: Home Depot, tile, living)

[HappyRider]

Strawbridges and Clothier was a Philadelphia landmark. Nobody lifted a finger. All this bail out mania starter out with the banks and now we can't afford to let anybody go out of business. How do we know a business is not needed any more?

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

I hate Wal-Mart! They are a little bit cheaper, but is it really worth the hassle? The nearest avaliable parking spot is usually a quarter mile away from the store. Most of thier stuff is cheaply made crap. Thier clothing sucks, and the lines are so long, it usually takes 20-30 minutes to pay and leave! After all this hassle and wasted time, what are you really saving? i'd much rather pay a little extra, which is not much at all at Boscov's, and get a better product. In the downtown Wilkes-Barre store, it is very convenient. You park in the parkade which is attatched to the store so you never have a far walk in the cold, and you're never in the weather. There is never a massive crowd of shoppers. You're able to get in and out of the store in 15 minutes if you want. No long lines. Many good sales. And many old fashioned specialties. Our Boscov's has a restaraunt, it has a hair saloon, it has a furniture and appliance dept., it has a candy kitchen that makes fudge right there in the store, until two years ago it even had a pet store. At Christmas time, they have a Santa Clause for the kids. It's a unique store and has all these little things that Wal-Mart doesn't offer. Plus at Wal-Mart, you have to drive to the outskirts of town, and sit in traffic ect. I find Boscov's to be better in every possible way. I try to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. Expecially on the third of the month (welfare check day!) Those lines are worthy of The Guiness book of World Records

Comparing Boscov's and Wal-Mart is comparing apples and oranges....two completely different types of stores. I wouldn't consider them competitors.

For clothing (and housewares for that matter), Kohl's beats Boscov's anyday. Name brand clothes with prices the same or better than Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or Target for for clothing.

[ScranBarre]

I plan to do as much of my Christmas shopping this year as possible at the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Boscov's. I had nothing but a wonderful experience the last time I was there with friendly staff, great bargains, and a nice overall atmosphere. My only gripe would be that the store NEEDS some serious cosmetic renovations to stay competitive. I thought the escalator on one of the floors was going to swallow me whole!

Al Boscov was nothing but loyal to Wilkes-Barre at a time when the city needed him most. Now that the shoe is on the other foot people are abandoning his family's namesake store. People in Wilkes-Barre ought to be absolutely ashamed of themselves. In 1972 the city was nearly decimated by Tropical Storm Agnes and the mighty Susquehanna River. In 1973 thousands of people left Wilkes-Barre and headed to the Back Mountain, Bear Creek, Mountain Top, Greater Pittston, and the other suburbs. Many business owners remained loyal to the downtown (including The Boston Store, which was the predecessor of Boscov's if I'm not mistaken). Al Boscov was a pioneer to transform the old Paramount Theater into the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. After class recently our forensic accounting professor at King's treated us to pizza at Rodano's on Public Square, and I was impressed by all of the foot traffic around town. You don't even see that level of evening foot traffic on a Tuesday night in Scranton, which is supposedly "light years" ahead of Wilkes-Barre judging by popular opinion. Al Boscov pledge to keep his store in the Diamond City, even though he probably could have boosted sales by following his lemming consumers out to Wilkes-Barre Township, further draining the city's tax base and vitality.

I'm usually 100% opposed to government bail outs of private industry, but if it weren't for Boscov's think of how far back Downtown Wilkes-Barre would be today. When the city hit rock-bottom about five years ago, complete with street lights corroding and falling onto vehicles, Boscov's stayed. Judging by the most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 50,000 people have moved out of Wilkes-Barre since its heyday. We should do everything in our power to help keep Boscov's downtown. Between Boscov's, Barnes & Noble, Starbuck's, Rodano's, Thai Thai, La Toscana, Cinema 14, Kirby Center, etc. many people now have a reason to make downtown a nightlife destination. Seeing Boscov's fail would do serious damage to our fragile downtown.

What's the allure of Wal-Mart, anyways? Seeing low-class people scream expletives at their misbehaving children? Seeing employees huddled in the parking lot smoking their depression away? Hearing more languages spoken than I would if I were in Manhattan? Getting dings in my car doors because those aforementioned low-class people were too large to walk to put their carts back into their corrals? Spending less money for lower-quality products made at the hands of exploited foreign workers in Asia? Putting another billion dollars into the pockets of the greedy Walton family who profit immensely while many of their employees are on government assistance that WE pay for through OUR payroll deductions? Promoting urban sprawl? I can't think of ONE reason why Wal-Mart is a great place to shop. Anyone in deference is free to borrow my DVD "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." At first I thought it was just propaganda being spewed forth at my college. I then did further research for hours and vowed to never shop at Wal-Mart again.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

In the downtown Wilkes-Barre store, it is very convenient. You park in the parkade which is attatched to the store so you never have a far walk in the cold, and you're never in the weather. There is never a massive crowd of shoppers. You're able to get in and out of the store in 15 minutes if you want. No long lines. Many good sales.

"Never a massive crowd" is not exactly a good indicator for Boscov's chances, especially if this is one of their flagship stores.

And many old fashioned specialties. Our Boscov's has a restaraunt, it has a hair saloon, it has a furniture and appliance dept., it has a candy kitchen that makes fudge right there in the store, until two years ago it even had a pet store.

And how many of those are actually profitable, I wonder? I will give you that Boscov's has a certain old-fashioned charm. Given their predicament, I just don't know if being an "old-fashioned" department store is a sustainable business model in this day and age. There's a reason why stores like Macy's gave up on these sorts of ideas: People just don't revere the department store ideal the way they used to. When department stores first opened, they were the place to go for everything, including entertainment and services. People would spend entire days there, which is why stores opened up services like hair salons. Today, people shop differently. If shoppers want to go to a candy store, they're more likely to go to the mall or find one in a quaint town somewhere, not go to a department store. Shoppers today just want efficiency and low prices which is why you see Wal-mart, Target, and Kohl's dominating the landscape.

[HappyRider]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I plan to do as much of my Christmas shopping this year as possible at the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Boscov's. I had nothing but a wonderful experience the last time I was there with friendly staff, great bargains, and a nice overall atmosphere. My only gripe would be that the store NEEDS some serious cosmetic renovations to stay competitive. I thought the escalator on one of the floors was going to swallow me whole!

Al Boscov was nothing but loyal to Wilkes-Barre at a time when the city needed him most. Now that the shoe is on the other foot people are abandoning his family's namesake store. People in Wilkes-Barre ought to be absolutely ashamed of themselves. In 1972 the city was nearly decimated by Tropical Storm Agnes and the mighty Susquehanna River. In 1973 thousands of people left Wilkes-Barre and headed to the Back Mountain, Bear Creek, Mountain Top, Greater Pittston, and the other suburbs. Many business owners remained loyal to the downtown (including The Boston Store, which was the predecessor of Boscov's if I'm not mistaken). Al Boscov was a pioneer to transform the old Paramount Theater into the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. After class recently our forensic accounting professor at King's treated us to pizza at Rodano's on Public Square, and I was impressed by all of the foot traffic around town. You don't even see that level of evening foot traffic on a Tuesday night in Scranton, which is supposedly "light years" ahead of Wilkes-Barre judging by popular opinion. Al Boscov pledge to keep his store in the Diamond City, even though he probably could have boosted sales by following his lemming consumers out to Wilkes-Barre Township, further draining the city's tax base and vitality.

I'm usually 100% opposed to government bail outs of private industry, but if it weren't for Boscov's think of how far back Downtown Wilkes-Barre would be today. When the city hit rock-bottom about five years ago, complete with street lights corroding and falling onto vehicles, Boscov's stayed. Judging by the most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 50,000 people have moved out of Wilkes-Barre since its heyday. We should do everything in our power to help keep Boscov's downtown. Between Boscov's, Barnes & Noble, Starbuck's, Rodano's, Thai Thai, La Toscana, Cinema 14, Kirby Center, etc. many people now have a reason to make downtown a nightlife destination. Seeing Boscov's fail would do serious damage to our fragile downtown.

What's the allure of Wal-Mart, anyways? Seeing low-class people scream expletives at their misbehaving children? Seeing employees huddled in the parking lot smoking their depression away? Hearing more languages spoken than I would if I were in Manhattan? Getting dings in my car doors because those aforementioned low-class people were too large to walk to put their carts back into their corrals? Spending less money for lower-quality products made at the hands of exploited foreign workers in Asia? Putting another billion dollars into the pockets of the greedy Walton family who profit immensely while many of their employees are on government assistance that WE pay for through OUR payroll deductions? Promoting urban sprawl? I can't think of ONE reason why Wal-Mart is a great place to shop. Anyone in deference is free to borrow my DVD "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." At first I thought it was just propaganda being spewed forth at my college. I then did further research for hours and vowed to never shop at Wal-Mart again.

You really didn't have to deride people, many of them low income, or as you call them "low-class", to make your point.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by pcity

Today, people shop differently. If shoppers want to go to a candy store, they're more likely to go to the mall or find one in a quaint town somewhere, not go to a department store. Shoppers today just want efficiency and low prices which is why you see Wal-mart, Target, and Kohl's dominating the landscape.

You're exactly right -- people do shop differently today, but that doesn't mean they shop better. I'm not criticizing the desire for efficiency (even though I disagree with the notion that Boscov's is inefficient -- they offer excellent sales on brands that Kohl's, Target and Walmart don't offer and other items that are much better quality).

The issue is, people think their often getting a better deal or better "value." Walmart in particulary offers pretty low-end models of brands, but because they're Sony or Panasonic people think they're actually saving money on "brand name" products. Not to mention the reason why the prices happen to be lower is that they sell items made with cheap labor. Is that "efficient," or is that just receiving the benefit of capitalistic practices that exploit other people in the process of giving consumers the lowest price possible?

The point is: everyone loves to save money and make life easy on themselves with convenient shopping "one-stop" shopping, but we also need to be conscious of how these businesses conduct themselves and how "value" can be very deceiving.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

You really didn't have to deride people, many of them low income, or as you call them "low-class", to make your point.

Apparently you've never "people-watched" at the Wilkes-Barre Township Wal-Mart Supercenter. One need not be affluent to have "class." I make $15,000 per year. I keep myself very well aligned in public.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I plan to do as much of my Christmas shopping this year as possible at the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Boscov's. I had nothing but a wonderful experience the last time I was there with friendly staff, great bargains, and a nice overall atmosphere. My only gripe would be that the store NEEDS some serious cosmetic renovations to stay competitive. I thought the escalator on one of the floors was going to swallow me whole!

Al Boscov was nothing but loyal to Wilkes-Barre at a time when the city needed him most. Now that the shoe is on the other foot people are abandoning his family's namesake store. People in Wilkes-Barre ought to be absolutely ashamed of themselves. In 1972 the city was nearly decimated by Tropical Storm Agnes and the mighty Susquehanna River. In 1973 thousands of people left Wilkes-Barre and headed to the Back Mountain, Bear Creek, Mountain Top, Greater Pittston, and the other suburbs. Many business owners remained loyal to the downtown (including The Boston Store, which was the predecessor of Boscov's if I'm not mistaken). Al Boscov was a pioneer to transform the old Paramount Theater into the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. After class recently our forensic accounting professor at King's treated us to pizza at Rodano's on Public Square, and I was impressed by all of the foot traffic around town. You don't even see that level of evening foot traffic on a Tuesday night in Scranton, which is supposedly "light years" ahead of Wilkes-Barre judging by popular opinion. Al Boscov pledge to keep his store in the Diamond City, even though he probably could have boosted sales by following his lemming consumers out to Wilkes-Barre Township, further draining the city's tax base and vitality.

I'm usually 100% opposed to government bail outs of private industry, but if it weren't for Boscov's think of how far back Downtown Wilkes-Barre would be today. When the city hit rock-bottom about five years ago, complete with street lights corroding and falling onto vehicles, Boscov's stayed. Judging by the most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 50,000 people have moved out of Wilkes-Barre since its heyday. We should do everything in our power to help keep Boscov's downtown. Between Boscov's, Barnes & Noble, Starbuck's, Rodano's, Thai Thai, La Toscana, Cinema 14, Kirby Center, etc. many people now have a reason to make downtown a nightlife destination. Seeing Boscov's fail would do serious damage to our fragile downtown.

What's the allure of Wal-Mart, anyways? Seeing low-class people scream expletives at their misbehaving children? Seeing employees huddled in the parking lot smoking their depression away? Hearing more languages spoken than I would if I were in Manhattan? Getting dings in my car doors because those aforementioned low-class people were too large to walk to put their carts back into their corrals? Spending less money for lower-quality products made at the hands of exploited foreign workers in Asia? Putting another billion dollars into the pockets of the greedy Walton family who profit immensely while many of their employees are on government assistance that WE pay for through OUR payroll deductions? Promoting urban sprawl? I can't think of ONE reason why Wal-Mart is a great place to shop. Anyone in deference is free to borrow my DVD "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." At first I thought it was just propaganda being spewed forth at my college. I then did further research for hours and vowed to never shop at Wal-Mart again.

Nobody's "abandoning" Boscov's......its just that times change. The economy stinks, and this is not an affluent area....people are not going to pay more for things just to give Al Boscov more money. I'm looking out for my wallet and the well-being of my family....I can't just choose to shop somewhere where I'll pay more for the same items. I'd love to have that luxury, but I don't....and I earn more than some people do around here, so its probably even harder for a lot of people in this area to make ends meet.

And why do you have to get a dig in at Wal-Mart? Like I said, comparing Wal-Mart and Boscov's is like comparing apples and oranges. And maybe when you move out of your parents' house and have to provide for yourself and a family, you'll see why people shop at Wal-Mart. Trust me, its a different world out in the real world compared to living with your parents. I've been there, and I never had more money to burn than when I still lived at home, even though back then I only earned about 25% of what I earn now.

For all you talk about class envy in this area, you should look in the mirror. Your last paragraph was a big insult to people whom you consider "lower class" than yourself. Your education and comfortable status in life does not make you better than anyone else.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

You really didn't have to deride people, many of them low income, or as you call them "low-class", to make your point.

You obviously don't read many of his posts...Thats pretty much right on track for ScranBarre.....

Go Phillies

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

You obviously don't read many of his posts...Thats pretty much right on track for ScranBarre.....

Go Phillies

Don't you have more city-bashing to do?