Members of the family that founded and, for many years, ran the Boscov department store chain have revealed that they have bid to buy back the stores current under bankruptcy protection:
Albert R. Boscov and his brother-in-law Edwin A. Lakin are among the group who put in an offer for Boscov’s Inc., in a bankruptcy auction that culminates next week with the selection of a winning bidder, Boscov said in a report published today.
The pair, who helped run the company for decades, received multimillion-dollar buyout packages when they retired in January 2006 and handed the controls to Lakin’s son, chief executive officer Ken Lakin.
Boscov’s, you may remember, filed for bankruptcy protection in August and immediately closed 10 of their 49 stores. The remaining 39 stores are still operating under bankruptcy protection while bids are accepted that will determine the future of the company.
The deadline for bids was October 15 and more information may be revealed next week as to who the new owner will be. The other top bidder is Versa Capital Management.
I’d like to see someone buy Boscov’s who will continue to operate it. It’s a respectable mid-size department store chain. While my local Boscov’s has already closed, I hope the other 39 can remain open as long as financially feasible.
With the economy as it stands today, I can’t really imagine someone buying the chain with the intention to shut it down and sell off the real estate. There’s not a huge market for mall anchor real estate right now. Other department store chains, like Kohl’s and JC Penney, have already announced reductions in their short-term growth plans. Who else would be moving in to these locations?