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Staff Photo / Carole Jo Barboza, employee of Johnston’s R. Michael Semple Boscov, makes candy at the Eastwood Mall on Thursday. The store is having a big three-day opening party starting Thursday with a charity shopping day.
NILES – To the best of Anthony Cafaro Jr.’s extensive knowledge of the retail industry, the opening of Boscov’s department store at Eastwood Mall will mark the only department store opening in a new market this year in the United States.
A store may have moved to a community here or there, but to start fresh in a new market, Boscov’s is probably this one.
The store carries another notable distinction: at 180,000 square feet, it is in all likelihood the largest retailer to open in the United States this year.
These developments are significant because they take place in the Mahoning Valley at the Eastwood Shopping Center, owned and operated by Niles-based Cafaro, one of the largest private shopping center developers in the country.
To name the store, Boscov’s, the Reading, Pa.-Based retailer, is planning a lavish, extravagant three-day grand opening that begins Thursday.
A charity day on Thursday will raise funds for participating local nonprofits, so you can do the business you need to do from day one. If you don’t do it right, it will take you five years for people to find out who you are, ”said Jim Boscov, CEO of Boscov.
THE SHOP
It will be Boscov’s third in a property owned by the Cafaro company and will occupy about a third of the mall’s west lobby, including the former Sears department store. To make even more room for Boscov’s, several stores along this shopping corridor have been relocated inside the shopping center.
Last week, the crew were busy putting the finishing touches.
The store will offer a wide range of departments from a candy counter to optical and hearing centers with additional value-added customer service features, such as free gift wrapping for any item purchased.
This is what partly sets Boscov’s apart from other retailers: “We have departments that other department stores have abandoned: candy, toys, small …” Boscov said, adding that others have moved away from low-margin durable goods in favor of clothing, which has a higher margin.
“But by doing that, they give reasons for people to come to the store”, he said.
Other sources of pride include a wide range of products within each department that are often less expensive than competitors – for example, the retailer offers more than 20 models of coffeemakers – and customer service.
The store will employ at least 250 people.
“The goal is not just to have people who are there, but to have people who are knowledgeable and empowered to help… if they see a customer lugging two heavy bags, they have to intervene. and say to yourself, “Can I make this your car for you,” or “I’ll bring it to customer care for you.” You can drive straight away; we will charge it to your car.
And that’s what sticks to people, but it’s not a gimmick.
“You don’t do it because you are marketing; you are doing it because it is the right thing to do ”, said Boscov.
Cafaro said he sees Boscov’s as a local / national and regional hybrid company.
“Unlike some of the other nationals who are maybe lip-smacking that they are part of the community and are a real business neighbor to people, Boscov really is, in the communities that we have with them now, they continue to give back through charitable contributions (and) just through the way they treat their employees and the way they treat their employees more like family ”, Cafaro, co-president of Cafaro Company, said.
The large number of employees, Cafaro said, is a good indication of Boscov’s retail intentions.
“The volume they’ll make at the store will likely be exponentially greater than what Sears has done. It will be much more than what our other flagship clothing stores do. They will be the best performing stores… in terms of a true department store, they will be the best performing in all of Mahoning (County) and Trumbull County ”, said Cafaro, who ruled out Target, which he classified as a different style store.
Boscov’s was scheduled to open in October 2020, but the pandemic caused its delay. The store renovations were halted for a while and when they resumed they resumed with smaller shifts and at a slower pace.
THE STORY
Founder Solomon Boscov emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1914 at the age of 18.
He settled in Reading, Pennsylvania, where residents spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, a form of German similar enough to the Yiddish language he spoke to be able to communicate effectively in the community.
Soon after, Solomon had made a deal with a dry goods store staking him with goods, and he started out as a peddler, first on foot with a sack on his back, then with a horse and carriage.
His reputation as a fair, honest and kind man grew and he bought the dry goods store, establishing the first Boscov department store in 1918.
His son, Albert, joined the company a few decades later and became president upon Solomon’s death in 1969. Albert’s nephew, Jim Boscov, joined the company in the mid-1970s and became CEO in 2015.
The company now has 48 stores in Ohio, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Store # 49 is Niles.
CAFARO / BOSCOV RELATIONSHIP
Geography and demography are among the main reasons Boscov’s decided to expand into the valley market. The other was the company’s desire to partner with other family businesses, which is the Cafaro company, and the Cafaro company’s willingness to invest and maintain its properties in addition to its contributions. to the community.
“Certainly, you look at where the opportunities are because nobody is building malls today, and if there is space available, you certainly want to look at it, but that alone means that it isn’t. ‘is only a possibility’ said Boscov. “What you really want to do is check the market, the demographics, and make sure it makes sense for who you are, that there is a good population density and that its people are going to like you.
“The next part is, is there a deal to be made and in the case of Cafaros it’s a family business, we are a family business and we clicked”, said Boscov.
The relationship between the two companies began in the late 2000s, when Cafaro Company was part of a group of private investors that bought a stake in Boscov’s when it went bankrupt. The agreement was that if Boscov were to successfully come out of bankruptcy, he would open a store in a Cafaro company property.
The deal was fully a business proposition, a way to keep the Cafaro company from becoming overexposed as other large retailers began to collapse. But they realized that companies share similar characteristics that have led to their success. Among them, both are family and private, which makes them loyal to the client and not to the shareholders.
The St. Clairsville store, the first to open, and later Erie’s store provided proof to Cafaro Company that Boscov’s knew how to operate in a middle market, particularly in Erie, where the mall, like Eastwood, contains also competitors Macy’s and JC. Penney.
“It gave us a basis to say these guys are going to do really well. We also knew that in the long run, we believed that the Mahoning Valley would continue to recognize what the Eastwood Mall complex has to offer as a one-stop shopping destination for their shopping, dining and entertainment needs, ” Cafaro said.
“We are no longer just a shopping center for Trumbull County; we’re a destination for Trumbull County (and) we really think we’re also a destination for all of Mahoning Valley and Shenango Valley (Pa.), and that’s why we knew Boscov’s… they didn’t will have only one location in this community. It will be the biggest store in the area (and) we wanted it to be with us.ts; the official opening is Friday with a day for families which includes music and activities for the children; and an opening ceremony, parade and fireworks on Saturday.
“If you make an opening
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