Shopping blues

Filed for Chapter 11 protection on August 4th

Shoppers outside of the Mid-Atlantic States are unlikely to have heard of Boscov's, which may explain why the mid-tier department store chain struggled against retail giants such as Macy's. Boscov's, headquartered in Reading, Pa., will close ten of its 49 stores over the coming months and use $250 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Bank of America to run its other locations. The family-owned chain increased sales from $1.17 billion in 2006 to $1.25 billion in 2007, but thin profit margins exposed its vulnerability to the credit crunch.

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