The Campbell Reporter

Cover Story

Photograph courtesy Beck Family

From the Top: Beck stores opened in 1919 and has remained a family business. Ole Beck's grandsons and son (bottom row, from left) Bill Beck, father Dan, and Blaine continue the business with their family (second row from left) Katherine Beck, who is Dan Beck's wife, their son Adam Beck and Blaine's daughter, Emily Garrison. Julia, Blaine's second daughter, is in the top row.

Sole Survivor

In the shoe business, comfortable feet can be the barometer of a happy body.

By Lisa Neves Woldt

In the shoe business, comfortable feet can be the barometer of a happy body and, to take it a step further, a happy "sole." With generations of experience in the shoe business, the folks at Beck's Shoes know all about comfortable feet.

Beck's Shoes, with its corporate headquarters in Campbell on McGlincy Lane and one of its nine shops in Cambrian, has been dressing feet for 90 years.

From the beginning, the business had a no-nonsense approach to footwear.

The company's motto, "Shoes That Work," refers to the needs of its blue-collar customers who required tough, industrial-strength work boots and shoes, such as Wolverine, Carolina and Caterpillar.

Beck's has since added other brands known for comfort, quality and, lately, more trendy wear. While brands vary from store to store, Cambrian customers can find name brands for men and women that include New Balance, Teva, Ecco and the popular California brand, Birkenstock.

The 90-year-old family-run business began four generations ago further south in Salinas.

The family-run business began in Salinas when Ole P. Beck (pronounced "Oh-lee") immigrated to America in 1917 to seek his fortune. His footprints can be traced back to Denmark where the family's shoemaking business began generations earlier.

According to his son Bill, who is retired from the company, Ole Beck tried working on farms and had a series of jobs in Salinas before he joined the Army during World War I.

Although he was an enlisted man, he was not shy when it came to criticizing the military about its poor shoe repair quality while stationed in Virginia. He was quickly put to work to turn things around, and within six months he was promoted from private to sergeant in charge of 25 shoe repairmen.

After his military service, Beck returned to Salinas in 1919 and bought a shoe repair shop. It was a small step from repairing shoes to selling them, and Beck's retail business grew steadily over the next few decades. Bill helped part time in the shop and, after a stint in the Navy, returned to the business full time along with his two brothers.

In 1959, Bill Beck opened a shoe store in downtown San Jose, which has since closed. He opened another in Sunnyvale in 1966, then the Cambrian store in 1969. The Blossom Hill store was opened in 1971, followed by six more from Sacramento to Monterey.

Bill Beck's sons, Dan and Blaine, also followed in their father's footsteps, eventually sharing the responsibility of running the company. Dan Beck retired a few years ago, leaving Blaine Beck as president.

The business has lured the fourth generation of Beck men into the company, with Dan Beck's son, Adam, currently vice president of sales.

He started with the company in much the same way his father and grandfather did, from the ground up, beginning in the stock room, learning sales and advertising, then management. Adam Beck's sister, Michelle, worked in outside sales for the company before entering the mortgage industry.

Their mother, Katherine, is in charge of special orders.

"I told our children that they can have an opportunity to work in the company business, if they want to work hard and work their way up."

Blaine Beck's daughters also chose a career in the family business. Julia Beck is a corporate secretary and Emily Garrison works in accounts receivable.

"I can't envision myself being anywhere else," Julia says. "This is not just a business; it's part of our family."

Quality and comfort

Adam Beck says his full-service stores offer about 25 different brands based on the company's definition of quality and comfort.

"We only carry the best of the best for our customers," Adam Beck says.

According to the Cambrian store co-manager, Peter Fenolio, if customers are not happy with the fit of a new brand or style, it's returned to the manufacturer. Fenolio co-manages the store with Jose Perez.

Fenolio literally walks the walk at Beck's.

"I have tried on every single pair of men's shoes because I need to know how it feels in order to educate the customer," says Fenolio, who has been with the company for seven years.

To emphasize the point, Blaine Beck says, "We won't sell it at a discount. We'll just send it back. The consumer has a good memory about where they bought their shoes if their feet hurt."

Blaine Beck says even though there are so many different shoe constructions and shapes, company employees are trained to make sure the customer is wearing the right pair.

Sometimes, Fenolio says, customers come in knowing what they want, but more often they walk in with issues such as corns, bunions, calluses, joint stress and arch problems. The customers are looking for relief.

First-time customers with foot issues should plan on spending some time in the store. "That's perfect for us," says Fenolio, "because we can begin to do our job." Customer services include discussing wear patterns of the customer's existing shoes, along with accurate foot measurements. The feet are measured in custom-built devices designed to address the needs of each foot, not just the larger one. It's common, says Adam Beck, to have up to a half-size difference between feet, which can be corrected comfortably with a combination of socks, shoes and insoles.

And it's not just feet. Back pain can also result from improper support in the shoe. Fenolio says inserting a better footbed--or insole--adds all the comfort to a pair of shoes. Beck's Shoes carries Superfeet insoles and orthotics, after employees were trained on proper biomechanical foot functions at Superfeet's Washington state headquarters.

"Socks are no less important than the quality of the shoe," says Blaine Beck. "We upgrade customers who don't think twice about socks, and they can't believe the difference."

Socks and insoles represent about 15 percent of total sales volume, according to Beck.

"The biggest foot problem around right now is plantar fasciitis," says Fenolio.

He describes it as built-up scar tissue that feels like a little rock in the heel. According to Fenolio it can be treated with the right shoe and fitting aids.

An important advantage independent shoe retailers such as Beck's have over big-box retailers, such as large department stores and bargain shoe outlets, is the one-on-one, full-service customer relationship. "We sit down and listen to the customer," says Fenolio.

Yet even if a customer doesn't buy a pair of shoes, the family wants the customer to leave educated about his or her feet and the shoes. "We are on our third and fourth generation of customers," Adam Beck says.

The majority of customers are baby boomers, Fenolio says, and many buy the same shoe over and over again because they're comfortable. Occasionally customers come in with a doctor's recommendation they don't necessarily want to follow.

Janice Blair has been buying shoes from Beck's for more than 20 years. She recently walked out with a pair of comfortable athletic shoes after having knee surgery. She also buys sandals at Beck's. "The salespeople have all been excellent and go out of their way to help you," she says.

Longtime customer Michael Hurley has also relied on the store for the steel-toed boots that he purchases annually.

Hurley has been a loyal purchaser for 15 years, and he says, " It's simple. It's easy and no hassle."

Beck's Shoes has relied on more than foot traffic over the years to sustain its business. The company has hundreds of accounts throughout the city and county that it services through its two "shoemobiles." The trucks are equipped with display shelves holding about 10 pairs of shoes each. The success of the shoemobile has management kicking around the idea of a third truck.

Yet it's the old-fashioned quality that appeals to the customers and those who work at the company.

"It's not the volume of business we do that's important, it's the quality of the sale that makes us different," Blaine Beck says.

He says there is a tremendous amount of loyalty from customers, and repeat business is very high.

Katherine Beck says people yearn for old-fashioned customer service instead of high-pressure sales people. She says a former employee recently came back to the company because he missed the camaraderie and family atmosphere.

"I believe customers feel that way, too," she says.

She credits her son's passion for the business and is proud that it's continued into another generation.

Adam's dad, Bill, simply says, "Ole would be proud."

For more information on Beck's Shoes, 3687 Union Ave., San Jose, call 408.377.5771 or visit www.beckshoes.com. Store hours: Monday-Friday, 10-8, Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 11-6.