Attention shoppers.
Boscov?s Departments Stores Inc. is opening in a mall near you.
Three stores ? in Owings Mills, Marley Station and White Marsh Mall ? will make public debuts with ribbon-cutting ceremonies at 9:30 a.m., followed by official door-openings at 10 a.m. Oct. 28.
“We?ve been on the fringes of Baltimore for a number of years with our stores in Westminster, Frederick and Salisbury,” said Kenneth Lakin, chairman of the company and third generation of the Boscov family to lead the department store chain. “We see some growth going on, in particular in Marley Station. We think the entire area could grow. There is a great density of population in the malls we are moving in to.”
Boscov?s is taking the place of Macy?s in all three locations. Boscov?s bought the locations in a 10-store deal it made earlier this year with Federated Department Stores Inc.
Boscov?s, one of the nation?s largest family-owned and independently operated department stores, is being heralded as a savior for the Owings Mills Mall.
“The mall opened as a very upscale mall in the mid-80s, and we?ve swung both ways with a Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue,” said Brian Ditto, executive director of the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Chamber of Commerce. “For various reasons, they failed to make a long-term fit with this community. Then we had a Sears for a while. Boscov?s is the kind of mid-level, all-American type of place that shoppers will be drawn to.”
Tom Saquella, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, said Boscov?s is a custom fit for Marley Station and White Marsh, but added that though “Maryland is an attractive retail climate. ? Everyone is struggling in Owings Mills.”
Boscov?s will host a gala preview at all three locations Friday, with local nonprofit organizations reaping the benefit of the $5 admission fee.
The department store began as a shoe and dry goods outlet in Reading, Pa., and has grown to more than 50 stores in six states offering designer apparel, consumer electronics, home furnishing, sporting equipment, luggage, appliances, bed and bath decor, toys, jewelry, cosmetics and more. The store also services what it sells, Lakin said.
Boscov?s expects to employ about 400 people in each of the three new stores.
Locations
Opening Oct. 28
» Marley Station, 7900 Governor Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie
» Owings Mill, 10300 Mill Run Circle, Owings Mills
» White Marsh, 8200 Perry Hall Blvd., Baltimore
Current locations
» Boscov?s Westminster Town Mall, 400 N. Center St., Westminster
» Frederick Towne Mall, 1301 W. Patrick St., Frederick
» Boscov?s Centre at Salisbury, 2310 N. Salisbury Blvd., Salisbury
