For Boscov, W-B a city to savor

WILKES-BARRE – Al Boscov and Mayor Tom Leighton hugged Friday, symbolizing how the downtown retail giant and the city have embraced each other for decades.

As the featured speaker at a morning seminar attended by nearly 200 people, Boscov, 79, told how and why he got back into the business his father started in 1921 and which he built into the nation’s largest family-owned department store chain. After it became clear in late 2008 that liquidation was imminent, Boscov and his brother-in-law, Edwin Lakin, made a last-minute bid for the company. The $300 million deal, a hastily arranged mixture of public and private financing, was approved by a Delaware bankruptcy judge in November.

Boscov described Wilkes-Barre as one of several of his adopted hometowns. He is credited with leading the drive to create the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts and for urging the city and chamber of commerce to bring a movie theater to the downtown. He was the first person to suggest a Barnes and Noble bookstore for the city.

Boscov spoke for more than an hour before former chamber president Steve Barrouk got up to lead a brief question-and-answer period.

“Mr. Boscov has managed to cover everything from bankruptcy to bras, so I don’t think there will be many questions,” Barrouk quipped.

Boscov detailed the process of getting back his business, crediting Mayor Leighton and city council for daring to be the first to approve a $3 million loan against the city’s Community Development Block Grant money that helped him swing the deal. The city was able to loan the money to Boscov at a reduced interest rate – about 2 percent.

“Because Wilkes-Barre was the first, other cities followed and we were able to put together a package to buy the business back,” Boscov said before he gave Leighton a hug.

“I talked to Mr. Boscov back in August,” Leighton said. “I realized how important it was for him and for the survival of the downtown store.”

“We spent so many years building our business, we didn’t want to see it come down so fast,” he said. “We have so many people who have worked for us for so many years; we were deeply concerned for them.”

Boscov said he has been visiting all of his stores, improving them to the point where he can walk through and be proud. He said the Wilkes-Barre store was once a $36 million per year store and is now doing about $20 million. By Easter, he expects sales to be up 5 or 6 percent.

In remarks about the state of retailing, Boscov candidly revealed that there is “hardly anything for sale in a retail store that is made in America.” He joked the United States should never go to war with China because our soldiers might have to go to battle naked.

When he regained control of his business, Boscov said competitors shuddered and said, “That nut Boscov is back; we hate him.”

Boscov questioned the legitimacy of today’s prices, calling most of them “felonious.” He said most retailers struggle for 10 months out of the year – until “Black Friday” – the day after Thanksgiving when shoppers flock to stores for bargains.

“You know why they call it Black Friday?” Boscov asked. “Because that’s the day most retailers come out of the red.”

“Age doesn’t make a bit of difference,” he said. “Well, I used to be able to climb trees, but I don’t climb them any more. As long as you’re not sick, you can do anything. I’ve never had a headache – never.”

Penn State Wilkes-Barre, along with the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association and Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Alumni Society hosted the event, held at the Genetti Hotel & Convention Center .

After he spoke, Boscov for the second time was presented with the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Outstanding Community Leader Award. The award focuses on community service that has positively affected the quality of life in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Retail exec lauds council, mayor for helping him get loan to keep store from liquidation.

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