Boscov's big opening

John Hale
Register & Bee staff writer

DANVILLE, Va. - Christmas came early in the River City - or at least the Christmas shopping season.

Boscov’s department store opened Thursday to customers who paid $5 a ticket for the right to shop.

And they arrived in scores.

About 750 shoppers waited in line before the doors opened. They remained in the store 90 minutes later as hundreds more bargain hunters flooded the new retailer.

“I’ve already made two trips out to the car - still looking. All I’m missing is a shopping cart,” said Pat Jarrett of Danville. “I’ve got a little bit more to spend. Actually, I’ve done most of my Christmas shopping … in here … today.”

Amy Pillow said her fiancé sent her to Boscov’s to apply for a credit card and to buy a reasonable amount of things for the house they are building.

“He showed me a few things and told me not to go overboard with it,” Pillow said. “Poor him. I’m going to get in here and find all kinds of stuff.”

An hour or more later, Pillow was upstairs, waiting in line for the credit card application. She said she had boxes of items downstairs that were being taken to her car by store employees.

Customer service starts at the top at Boscov’s. Ken Lakin, the store chief executive officer, took time to show a customer where the shopping carts were parked and how to use one. Minutes later, the same customer asked another question of Lakin, this time while pushing a cart full of merchandise.

“We’re a pretty hands-on organization,” Lakin said. “I grew up in the business, so I’ve done everything from sweeping the floors …”

Seventeen police officers were on hand to control the crowds, but the customers remained orderly and completed Boscov’s charge card applications while waiting in line before the store opened Thursday morning.

Trish Woodson attended the opening with New Jersey native Cathie Martin. Boscov’s, based in Redding, Pa., is a fixture in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The Danville store, which is the 40th in the chain, marks the company’s first foray into Virginia.

“We’ve been so long coming, we’re just curious what they have in there,” Danville resident Ray McCormick said before the store opened.

The resounding answer from the customers inside the store was “everything.”

“This store has everything. It’s something we’d normally see in Greensboro,” Marcie Gunter said. “You think about it. When have we ever had a store like this?”

“Everything is absolutely gorgeous,” Iris Chavis said. “It’s just wonderful that Danville has a store like this that has absolutely everything.”

“It’s just worth everything to come in here and see all the beautiful things,” Rachel Durham said. “You can’t help but thanking the Lord for it.”

“I’m glad that they are here,” said Doris Boyd of Danville. “I’ve been in the North in one of the stores, and they have more things than any of the department stores here.”

Lillian Reamer of Scottsburg made the most of her hour-long drive to Boscov’s. She had a cart full of merchandise, which she was unloading only so she could return and buy more.

“We’re supposed to be Christmas shopping, but we ended up shopping for ourselves,” Reamer said. “We’re not done.”

The parking lot, with 3,800 spaces for Boscov’s entrances, remained full for much of the day.

Piedmont Mall general manager Warren Pettis shared in the shoppers’ excitement of the store coming to town.

“Obviously, Boscov’s was the feature, but there was a drain off into other stores,” Pettis said. “With their advertising program, they will draw from a larger area to Danville.

“It adds to what we already have here. In Danville, we need retail like this where they have things they can’t find anywhere.”

Lakin said the store tries to retail as much domestic product as possible, partly because the freight charges and mostly because of the ability to work more closely with U.S. manufacturers.

“You have to listen to your customers, and you have to get what they want,” Lakin said. “They vote with their dollars every day.”

The electronics department backs up every sale with its guarantee, Lakin said.

“We deliver it. We’ll set it up for you. We’ll fix it,” he said. “… We offer a level of friendly service. We do put people in the store and on the floor so the person is there when the customer is ready with a question or to be rung out.”

Lakin said Thursday’s dress rehearsal for Saturday’s grand opening was “typical” for service in a Boscov’s store.