Boscov's: A department store in bankruptcy

Boscov's, the last department store chain based in this region, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 4, 2008, seeking protection from creditors while it slims down into a company that can compete successfully and provide high-quality goods and services.

The 49-store chain, a presence at most area malls, said in the filing that it plans to close about 10 unprofitable stores after liquidating their inventories with going-out-of-business sales.

On Nov. 4, the company announced that retired company executive Albert R. Boscov had orchestrated a buyout deal to keep Boscov's in the original family.

Read the voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Read the declaration of Michael J. Hughes, Boscov’s executive vice president for capital development.


From The Inquirer's archives:

Boscov's seeks private financing to refill inventory
Contending with a cash shortage that has limited its ability to sufficiently stock its store shelves, Boscov's said yesterday that it was looking to the private-equity world for a loan to replenish inventory in time for back-to-school season. (July 29) Read the article

Boscov's sails into retail turbulence
What’s in store: The retailer’s private-equity loan may end family-owned autonomy. (July 30) Read the article

Boscov's CEO upbeat despite bankruptcy rumors
The top executive at Boscov's Department Store L.L.C. would neither confirm nor deny yesterday a report that the Reading department store chain could file for bankruptcy as early as Monday. (Aug. 1) Read the article

Did expansion lead to Boscov's woes?
Things have gone south for the chain since new leadership bought 10 used stores. (Aug. 3) Read the article

Many say Boscov's filing just the start
It illustrated the perils for businesses that borrowed heavily during boom times. (Aug. 10) Read the article

Boscov’s closing sales start Saturday
Boscov's Department Stores L.L.C., which filed for bankruptcy protection last week, announced today that it will begin store-closing sales at 10 stores on Saturday. (Aug. 15) Read the article

Boscov’s receives OK for bankruptcy financing
Boscov's said today that it won final approval from the bankruptcy court in Delaware to receive $250 million to help the company operate during its bankruptcy reorganization. (Sept. 4) Read the article

Boscov’s bidding war could include family
The bidding war for the country's oldest family-owned department store has begun. Or, shall we say, the first salvo has been fired. (Sept. 18) Read the article

Bankruptcy judge approves sales plan for Boscov's
A Delaware bankruptcy judge yesterday approved fast-tracked plans for an auction sale later this month of Pennsylvania-based department store chain Boscov's. (Oct. 2) Read the article

Family members seek to get Boscov's back
Members of the family that founded and ran the Boscov's department store chain for 97 years before it landed in bankruptcy in August reportedly have submitted a bid to buy back the business. (Oct. 17) Read the article

Family bids to rescue Boscov's
Retail patriarch Albert R. Boscov signed an agreement to buy back most of the assets of the department store, despite the credit and consumer crises that have brought much deal-making to a standstill in the last two months. (Nov. 5) Read the article

Boscov's officially back in family hands
The Boscov family today closed on the deal to buy back its 39-store department store chain from bankruptcy for about $300 million. Read the article