Boscov's to expand furniture selection, drop appliances, electronics

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, November 26, 2012

READING, Pa. — Department store Boscov's said it plans to eliminate its appliance and electronics offerings and expand its furniture selection with new bedrooms and dinettes in its more than 40 locations.

The company told the Reading Eagle that furniture sales are seeing growth, while sales of televisions and other related products are not, due in large part to competition from electronics specialists such as Best Buy.

Company Chairman Albert R. Boscov also told the Eagle that his company is one of the last to sell appliances and that it plans to "stick to what it does well."

Part of the strategy, the paper reported, is to add Bombay shops that sell globally inspired classic furniture and home décor offered licensed under the Bombay Company name. Powell Company is the current Bombay licensing partner. Its Bombay lineup includes dining, occasional, youth and accent furniture.

Boscov's also plans to expand its contemporary rug offerings, the paper said.

Albert Boscov told the paper that he expects inventory in the appliance section to be drawn down by January and completely sold off by February or March. At that point, those items also will be off the company web site, the paper said.

It was unclear how much floor space Boscov's now devotes to furniture in each store and how much additional square footage will be devoted to the category on average. Company officials did not respond to repeated calls from Furniture/Today for comment or further details on the furniture offerings.