The Boscov’s store in Camp Hill is now much brighter.

The lights have always been on in the 39-year-old department store at the Camp Hill Shopping Center but the store is now visibly brighter.

It’s part of a multi-million dollar renovation that began in February and was just completed by the Reading-based retailer.

Jim Boscov, CEO of Boscov’s, said that the lighting itself makes a big difference, and with new tile floors, carpeting and fixtures, he says it’s like a brand-new store.

“When I walked into the store, I think it was about 10 days ago — I was absolutely blown away,” Boscov said in an interview Thursday. “I just thought it was light, bright and attractive as could be. I was very impressed. I was impressed by the co-workers. I was impressed by the inventory. I felt very, very good about it.”

This was the first major renovation for the Camp Hill store. Boscov’s also recently completed a major renovation project at the store at the York Galleria Mall in Springettsbury Township.

The company has done a number of major renovations at its stores and typically does about two a year. A 39-year-old store that is open almost every day of the year needs to be updated, Boscov said.

“We may take good care of our stores but these stores get old, like anything, and they need to refresh periodically and it’s necessary to do that to remain relevant,” he said.

But Boscov said major renovation projects are more than fresh paint and new floors. It gives the retailer a chance to reconfigure the stores to gear them to today’s customers, making it easier for them to shop.

“Over the years business has changed,” he said. “We didn’t have a men’s big and tall department when we first opened that store. Dresses became more important over time. Athletic clothing [has become] more important. And you have to give it the right place. It’s an opportunity to resize departments to reflect their importance in today’s world and also show them off more attractively.”

The project included an increase in the store‘s assortment of kids’ shoes. Boscov’s also changed its section for adult shoes as well with more products on the sales floor. The footwear space is much larger now at around 11,000 square feet of space. Stores’ sales have increased since the new footwear area opened, said store manager, Clarence Banks.

“In our shoe area, we introduced ‘open sell’ which customers seem to prefer and that surprises me. I was taught by my grandfather to sell shoes by bringing shoes from the stock room and getting down on my knees and helping fit them, and what we find is that many customers prefer the visibility of seeing what’s in stock there and trying on [the shoes themselves]. They find it preferable,” he said. “We certainly want to offer that to the person who wants it but we continue to offer service for the customer who wants that as well.”

A self-service checkout area was also added. Boscov’s said customers’ preference for self-service also surprised him.

“To test it we put four full-service registers next to three self-service registers and there were people who chose to go one way or another,” he said. “One of the things I heard people say is ‘I don’t want to go to self-service because it will cost people their job’. That’s not the case. If we can free a person from the register, it means another person we can put on the sales floor to help people.”

The discount area, Bargain Central is now Bargain Outlets, which has now been moved across the store. Bargain Outlets was introduced at the beginning of the year and the new area opened within the last few months. The discount area is almost like a store within a store with its own departments including clothing, shoes, accessories, pets, beauty and home. Bargain Outlets has a feature for clearance items called “Last Call Clearance” and another feature called “Item of the week.” Last week’s feature item for instance was a lantern for $5.

“It’s items at crazy prices in small quantities so if people see something they like they should buy it today because it’s not going to be there long. But there’s new stuff coming in all the time. And people are starting to get the hang of that,” Boscov said.

The department store also expanded its cosmetics offering and has a separately defined area called “Indulge Studio”.

Boscov said many women now get their makeup, hair, and skincare tips from social media sites like Tik Tok and he says that the retailer is noticing customers coming into the store to find those products that they see on social media.

The popular candy counter was removed during construction and now has a new home in the store where women’s sportswear was located. There is a fudge machine and the store will be making roasted nuts in the future.

“During the remodel, that was the most commonly asked question. Where’s the candy? When’s it coming back?” said Banks.

The stores at the Camp Hill Shopping Center and at the York Galleria Mall remained open throughout the renovations.

Boscov said the company is doing well but notes that there’s no question it’s a very competitive market.

“People are very concerned. They want to make sure that they’re spending their money wisely. And frankly, that concern bodes well for us because I think people understand that at Boscov’s they know they’re going to get a great deal,” said Boscov.

Boscov said spending habits were different during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were stuck at home. They were purchasing more items for the house and buying casual clothing. As things started to open up, customers started buying a lot more dressier clothing. He said sales are reflecting spending habits similar to what it was like before the pandemic.

At the end of the day, it’s all about the employees and the customers. Boscov said the Camp Hill store has several employees who have been there for 10, 20 or 30 years and several who have been there since day one, 39 years ago.

During his recent visit to the Camp Hill store, he said he appreciated talking to both employees and customers.

“What I enjoyed more than anything — I was walking through the store [and] was talking to customers who are excited and happy and expressed their appreciation for Boscov’s,” he said.

Boscov’s is holding a weeklong celebration at its stores at the Camp Hill Shopping Center and the York Galleria Mall, which began on Thursday and ends on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Boscov’s was founded 110 years ago and operates 50 stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ohio and West Virginia. The retailer says it’s the nation’s largest family-owned department store chain.