Boyds opens permanent store outside Philly for first time in 84 years

Down the road from Tesla and Maserati dealerships, iconic Philly clothier Boyds opened in September its first permanent store outside the city in its 84-year history. The high-end retailer dipped its toe into the suburbs with a pop-up in late 2020 after its Center City store sustained serious damage in the civil unrest after George Floyd’s murder.

The new Wayne store, a former Anthropologie, puts Boyds closer to the luxury car drivers on the Main Line who hadn’t shopped at the store where a sweater can set a man back $750, and a woman can easily drop $1,500 on a pair of boots.

Wawa, Rite Aid, Starbucks and, most recently, H&M closed or said they will close some stores in Center City. But that’s not the plan for Boyds, said Kent Gushner, the third generation in his family to run Boyds.

“We are committed to the city of Philadelphia,” said Gushner. He does express concerns about crime and safety but fear isn’t driving the business out.

“We would like to help bring the city to a level it was prior to COVID,” Gushner said. “I 110% want to be part of the improvement and solutions, whatever that may be.”

Boyds is located on the 1800 block of Chestnut Street, a part of the city with an economy in transition. There’s a vacant building next to Boyds’ architectural grandeur and a nearby Hats in the Belfry store with papered-over windows.

Michael R. Solomon, a St. Joseph’s University marketing professor who lives in the city, said that Boyds is taking a prudent decision with a suburban location, expanding to a place with more shoppers who can afford its merchandise.

“I have mixed feelings because I am a resident of downtown and I am not happy to see what’s happening,” Solomon said. He fears “a retail death spiral” if conditions worsen.

He applauds Boyds for staying, But cautions it has to be careful to not dilute its brand with multiple locations.

In 1938, Russian-Jewish immigrant Alexander “Alec” Gushner and his brothers Albert and Ben opened Boyds on East Market Street, selling men’s dress shirts and sundries. For decades, Boyds sold strictly men’s fashion, many times for weddings, television appearances, courtrooms or bar mitzvahs.

In 1990, Boyds relocated to 1818 Chestnut Street to make way for the Marriott hotel in the Pennsylvania Convention Center project. As part of the move to the west side of City Hall, Boyds bought a lot directly across Chestnut Street from the new store with 45 parking spaces, offering customers both convenience and security. In a major renovation years later, Boyds demolished an imposing marble stairs to the second floor, making the store’s entrance less forbidding.

In 2018, the New York Times published an article on Boyds with the headline: “The Last Great Clothing Store.”

Its longevity rested on a time-tested model: in-store tailoring, free parking, top fashion brands and personal service in a single destination store. “My father,” Gushner said, “would say that ‘the better you polish the jewel, the better the jewel will be.’ ”

In the former Anthropologie store on West Lancaster Avenue, sunlight brightens the single floor of retail space that has an industrial retro vibe. At around 10,000 square feet, the Wayne store is one-third the size of the downtown flagship.

Gushner hired Philadelphia architectural firm Canno for the redesign, looking for a more casual feel than downtown. The Wayne store stocks fashions for both men and women. Gushner, who travels the United States and Europe on buying expeditions and store visits, said most high-end department stores make 70% to 80% of their revenue from women’s fashion.

Boyds introduced women’s fashion into its downtown store around 2010, and it accounts for about one-third of Boyds revenue. It could be half in a couple years, Gushner said. Boyds does not disclose annual revenue figures.

The Wayne store’s merchandise mix mirrors the downtown store, Gushner said. Boyds runs a van between downtown and Wayne so it can deliver suits and outfits by appointment. Said Gushner of the suburban store: “I don’t want to dumb it down. I think that would be a mistake.”

On the May 2020 night of the George Floyd civil unrest, Gushner watched the store’s security cameras from his home as a crowd broke into the front doors and smashed glass merchandise displays. They sprayed fire extinguishers and stole merchandise.

Boyds almost didn’t survive, Gushner said. But the store’s 100 employees pitched in to clean up the mess, took pay cuts, and reopened in September 2020. Gushner said he is “blessed to have a lot of loyal and long-standing employees.

But he had inventory to sell and Center City seemed dead with the pandemic. A month later, he opened a pop-up store in Ardmore on a six-month lease. The store did well, leading to a lease extension and then a decision to open a permanent location in Wayne.

Gushner points to two Boyds amenities that help make the Center City store attractive to shoppers in these times: 35 in-store tailors for alternations and the free parking.

“Our bread is buttered with what we call destination clients,” Gushner said in an interview in the downtown store. “It’s not buttered by foot traffic. What we sell is not for the masses. It’s just a fact.”

When asked what could be done to improve Center City retail, Gushner said “safety, safety, safety. Without people perceiving the city as safe, it will make all other initiatives difficult.”