Shoe store offers comfort to remain competitive after four decades

Shoe store offers comfort to remain competitive after four decades

By Dwight Dana
Published: October 24, 2010

FLORENCE --  Personal service has been part and parcel of Jack’s Comfort Shoes for 40 years.

Richard Sawyer, 64, and his wife Pat are owners of the independent business. It is located at 1506 Second Loop Road.  Sawyer said Jack’s Shoes was founded more than 100 years ago by a Mayesville entrepreneur. Although there were several stores throughout the state, including Columbia, the only other one now is located in Sumter.

Sawyer’s store is not only stocked with shoes, but is also uniquely decorated with a covey of displays Sawyer was sitting up front in an easy chair listening to Christian music when approached by a reporter. Among the hymns playing was a Palm Sunday mainstay, “All Glory, Laud and Honor.”

He was flanked by an old gas stove on the left and an American flag and 1950s rotary push mower on the right. “Comfort is the best investment in shoes today,” he said. “We sell comfortable shoes that are made of high quality material. We have all sizes and widths.”

But Sawyer and his staff go the extra mile for their customers. Sawyer said the combined service of himself, his wife and two other employees represents 115 years.  “We measure our customers’ feet so that they can get the right size for the most comfortable fit,” he said. “Although we don’t claim to be a corrective shoe store, we can help people who have problems with their feet.”

And they go out of their way to measure feet.  “We use a Brannock Double Measuring device because most problems are caused by improperly fitting shoes,” he said. “It’s about as accurate as you can get.”

And he practices what he preaches. Among his best selling brands are San Antonio Shoe Co. shoes (SAS) and Red Wing.  Sawyer was wearing a comfortable pair of San Antonio shoes.

But comfort and measurements aside, what else does Jack’s Comfort Shoes offer?  “Our prices are competitive,” he said. “They are less than the factory outlets. Our goal is to keep our prices right and our service superior.”  Sawyer’s customers come from throughout the state and up into North Carolina.

MY THOUGHTS

i so welcome that - getting your feet measured. these days, simply giveing out your shoe size doesn't work. somewhere along the way the shoe size standards got all mixed up.