Van Hoecks Shoes assets step to auction

Van Hoecks Shoes assets step to auction

Photo via repocast.com

An asset management firm in Byron Center will host the final liquidation sale for Van Hoecks Shoes, which announced this fall that it would close after being in business for seven decades in downtown Grand Rapids.

Repocast.com, owned by the Miedema Asset Management Group, will offer a preview of the online auction on Feb. 18 and hold the sale on Feb. 19.

The preview will run from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. online — and in person at the Repocast space in Byron Center at 601 Gordon Industrial Ct. — while the online sale will be held from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. The assets, including shoes, can also be seen in person at Repocast's space on Tuesday.

More than 850 pairs of shoes will be listed for auction, along with various pieces of office equipment.

When Greg Clarin bought the store 15 years ago he said there was more retail downtown than there is now.

“When we built this, City Centre was here. Steketee’s was here. Herkner’s was here. Fox Jewelers was here. There was a lot of retail on the street. There’s nothing left,” Clarin told the Business Journal in September.

Van Hoecks offered quality name brand dress and casual shoes for men and women and developed a dedicated customer base that appreciated personal service.

“We’re not an anchor; we can’t sustain retail by ourselves. The lease kind of did us in,” Clarin said. “A lack of retail customers, besides our destination customers, has done us in.”

After Clarin announced Van Hoecks’ closing, Schuler Books also decided to close its downtown location. The bookstore is located across Monroe Center from Van Hoecks’ location.

More information on the auction is available at repocast.com or by calling (866) 550-7376.