Should Boscov's be saved? (Philadelphia, Reading: sale, condo, crime)

[W-B proud]

Boscov's the Reading based department store, with stores in several Pa cities was teetering on the brink of bankrupcy, but it looks as though The Governor "Fast Eddie" Rendell is going to swoop in for the rescue with a financial bailout with a little help from the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, who along with the state's contribution, will each contribute $3 million a piece to help Boscov's stay afloat. What is your opinion? Should the state "bail out" a private buisness that has been a good friend to Pa., or should we let them fail? I'm torn on this one. I am no fan of bail outs for private buisness at all, but this situation is unique, because Al Boscov has been such an outstanding pillar of many communities and has been instrumental in many cities revival projects. In my city, Wilkes-Barre, he led the charge to open The F.M. Kirby Center for the performing arts, that without him would have never happened, as well as many other projects the he supported for W-B, and I'm sure many other cities in eastern Pa. Plus, the loss of Boscov's would be pretty devastating for alot of our cities. I don't know, I haven't made up my mind on this one yet. What are your opinions? Boscov's yes, or Boscov's no?

[toobusytoday]

I just watched a bit of the news last night where some official was saying that the Boscovs in her mall was the anchor store and if it went out of business it would seriously affect the other stores in the mall. That made sense to me because if I'm going to go to the trouble of going to a mall, I justify it by knowing that I'll shop at other stores too.

[Mr Yuk]

No. This corporate welfare is getting out of hand. Its pathetic how these mayors like Doherty and Leighton are so concerned about a stinkin aging dinosaur of a department store closing, yet there are people starving in their cities right under their noses, crime is out of control,....people are losing their jobs and homes, yet we're concerned about a store that is just fading as part of the free market. I guess we don't live in a free market anymore. These guys would be proud:

[Icy Tea]

Al Boscov is a truly unique person, a guy who actually cares about the community he lives in and doesn't just want to get as much money as he can out of it. He's done ALOT for Reading, helping to revitalize neighborhoods through renovating houses for resale to new buyers( non profit), new construction( I MAX Theater, new condo developments) as well as sponsoring events like parades in Reading and Philadelphia. The chain was around for years and was the place to shop before and after older local stores like Wannamakers and Pomeroys went out of business.
It was a shame that the company went down due to extremely poor timing on expansion, also poor judgement in taking on too much debt to do it, as well as the major downturn in the economy. So anything that can be done to save it, even if its a smaller chain, I say its worth it. But they have to get back to their niche, middle of the road houswares and clothing based on value.
I'm not a huge fan of everything Ed Rendell does, but the guy does put local business first and I'm glad I voted for him.

[Ohiogirl81]

Beats giving money to the already overpaid and bloated legislature and judicial budgets, which seem to be gearing up to ask for raises.

[firefightermom]

I don't shop at Boscov's and probably never will as there are none near me, so to me it doesn't matter either way.

But here is my thought...if the stores close, how many more people will be out of work?

[kf70]

FWIW, the state is not giving Boscov's a handout. It is a federally backed loan that must be repaid, and was only being given if the sale to the Boscov family was approved, which happened yesterday.

[Duderino]

Boscov's is one of the few remaining family-owned (at least up until recently, but should also be once again soon) department stores that actually cares about their contribution to the local community. These are not the kind of businesses that we should let go under, folks. This is not like the case of the "Big Three" where they failed to update and innovate their business model after being given government financial support before, or just another Walmart that strains local businesses with monopolistic business practices.

Also, as others have noted, Boscov's is a huge asset not only in and of itself but also to other smaller businesses in our local malls. Some of their underperforming stores just happened to get caught up in the weakening retail sector. Thus, I wholeheartedly support any effort on behalf of the State to help them regain their footing.

[pcity]

It's all well and good that Boscov's is locally run and contributes to the community, but here's an important question: Does their business model work?

Many mid-tier department stores have gone out of business in the past 20 years, as the middle class now prefers to shop at discounters like Target and Walmart. If you look at competing department stores like Macy's and Sears, they're not doing that well either. My concern would be that Boscov's would get a loan and then end up going out of business anyway, ensuring that the loan wouldn't be paid back in full.

[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