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Penn-Lee Footwear owner finds success in keeping traditional neighborhood shoe store business alive.
Penn-Lee Footwear employee Jean McCormick of Parsons helps Mike Spaide of Plains select a pair of boots.
Jonathan J. Juka/for the times leader
Zurek
In 1972, when Stan Zurek decided to leave Owens-Illinois after a short three-month stint, his father told him he was making a huge mistake.
Despite the promise of a good-paying job, working the swing shift at the plant – which would later be known as Techneglas – just wasn’t for him.
Zurek would find his true calling – and a career he would pursue for the next 36 years – while at church.
The priest at his parish, St. Peter and Paul in Plains Township, said the owner of Penn-Lee Footwear in the Miners Mills section of Wilkes-Barre was looking for someone to learn the business and eventually take it over. Zurek went to see Leo Pensieri.
“I graduated from Mansfield and got a B.A. in political science which prepared me to sell shoes,” the Plains Township man says.
In 1980, when Pensieri wanted to retire, Zurek passed on buying the store. He got a second chance years later in 2003 when owner Frank Mattei was looking to sell.
Zurek is continuing a tradition of the old-fashioned shoe store, which has been thriving at that same location since 1961. He credits a mixture of adapting to changes in the industry while maintaining high levels of customer service for the store’s success.
Since he’s taken over ownership, Zurek said probably the biggest change he’s made is adding a mobile unit equipped with 1,000 pairs of work shoes, chairs for customers to sit on, and a counter for writing up sales. The truck travels to warehouses and manufacturing companies throughout the region. Zurek said his clients include Keystone Automotive, Air Products, Gatorade and Waste Management.
“Our biggest strength is work shoes,” he said. Penn-Lee prides itself on having hard-to-find sizes in all styles and carries up to size 18 in work shoes.
But by adding this store on wheels and putting a stronger focus on work shoes, something had to go. The year the truck was added was also the last year the store carried children’s shoes.
“The kids’ shoe business is not like it used to be. It’s been the Wal-Mart and Kmart stores that have had a lot more of the business within the last so many years.”
Zurek said the traditional store where every member of the family could be fitted has almost disappeared because the industry is specializing. When Penn-Lee began, the concept was that customers could purchase name brands at discount prices for the entire family. Today at Penn-Lee, price doesn’t drive the business.
“The concept of the old-fashioned shoe store is what attracts customers. We are not driven by price.
“Generally speaking, they know Penn-Lee Footwear, they like the old-fashioned concept. They like being fitted for shoes. They like a big selection. I think it’s basically customer service – how we actually fit our customers for shoes – and our reputation in the community that sets us apart.”
Zurek also credits the talents of his staff, which includes seven full-time workers. A handful of them have 20 years of experience or more at Penn-Lee.
Penn-Lee also touts being able to fit all types of people, from those with extremely narrow feet to those who wear very wide shoes.
“There’s many retailers out there that focus on having the lowest price. What good is having the lowest price if you only have a limited selection of sizes?”
Penn-Lee also carries casual shoes for men and women. You’ll find brands such as Clarks, Columbia and Skechers.
Zurek said he sells fewer and fewer dress shoes for men. Today, he said fewer men – and women – get as dressed up for work. “It’s a casual world. It’s just how things have gotten,” he said.
But as times and shoe styles change, one thing remains the same at Penn-Lee: Most of the business is driven by word of mouth.
He laughs as he tells of customers, who come to the store after being referred to Penn-Lee by chain-shoe store employees, who can’t always accommodate customers’ needs.
“People tell them to come here. ‘They’ll be able to fit you,’” he said.
Offering superb customer service experience is key, especially when you’re not located in a huge shopping center or a mall. And although he’s noticed more traffic on East Main Street since the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino opened in 2006, he knows that unless people have heard of Penn-Lee, it’s usually not a destination.
As for the future of Penn-Lee, he plans to beef up the store’s Web site.
But don’t expect another store to open.
It is Zurek’s belief that as neighborhood stores try to grow into multiple locations, they lose “that personal touch.”
That personal touch includes truly knowing his customers. Zurek concedes that he doesn’t have an elaborate computer program to track what his customers are buying. (“I go by feeling, and by listening.”)
And since he’s been at Penn-Lee since the 1970s, he knows many people want to see him while they’re in the store. That’s why he begrudgingly takes care of the books in the back room.
“I don’t like the paperwork. I’m a shoe man. Sometimes a customer wants me to take care of them personally. I have to be visible.”