hat do a box of paper clips and a Ford Trans-Am vintage racing car have in common? The answer: Kerry Hoctor, owner and operator of Menlo Park's Village Stationers, a fixture on Santa Cruz Avenue for 25 years. Mr. Hoctor also is a self-styled "car nut" who owns "four and a half" Ford Mustangs, including the race car that is jointly owned with Walt Boeninger, a Hewlett-Packard engineer.
Village Stationers, which specializes in personal (invitations, greeting cards) as well as office supplies, is another of Menlo Park's small, family-owned businesses that have survived and prospered in a changing downtown retail environment and in competition with chains.
Village Stationers' roots trace to the Town and Country Shopping Center, where, in 1966, Mr. Hoctor's father and mother, Al and Lois Hoctor, purchased the 900-square-foot John Hopkins Stationers.
The senior Mr. Hoctor had worked for the Western Pacific Railroad during and after World War II. Then he joined a travel business to manage tours. Tiring of the heavy travel required for the tours, he and his wife decided to go into business for themselves.
According to Kerry Hoctor, they used every family member's savings to buy the Hopkins business and purchase a home in Mountain View. One of seven children, Kerry started to work in the store when he was 11 years old.
In 1976, the Hoctors moved their business to 711 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park. They had lost their Town and Country lease and saw an opportunity to replace a stationery store in Menlo Park that went out of business.
Looking back, Kerry Hoctor says that was a big gamble. "How could we fill the new, 2,400-square-foot space?" They soon did and the business thrived.
During this period, he attended Foothill College and San Jose State University, and in 1979, at age 25, he went to work in the business full-time. Two years later, his parents, tiring of the demanding schedule, retired, and he bought the business.
Mr. Hoctor says that at first, the four employees and his suppliers wondered if he could handle it. "I was pretty young to own and run a business. But I thought I could do anything."
He said he was in debt up to his ears with a 20-year note at the bank, and he thought, "I'll never get out from under this thing."
But he realized that this was an opportunity to do what he loved to do. "I've always had a lot of confidence," he says.
There were other small stationery stores in Menlo Park at the time, but they "just kind of disappeared, unfortunately, because of rent and competition," says Mr. Hoctor. "They couldn't make it, but we've been able to survive somehow."
In 1988, he bought a second stationery store at 516 University Ave. in Palo Alto, which he says is doing well.
Business at the Menlo Park store has grown every year, he says, except for several years in the early 1990s when Office Depot and other discount stores appeared in nearby towns. In 1992, the McWhorter's chain opened an office-supply store a block away from Village Stationers.
Sales dropped temporarily, as he expected, and he cut back wherever he could, watched how the competition operated, made some adjustments, and concentrated on his niche.
"They are a serve-yourself store, but Menlo Park is accustomed to service, absolute service," he says.
Since he rode out the short-term sales drop, Mr. Hoctor says, Village Stationers' sales have doubled, its new store at 719 Santa Cruz Ave. is more than twice the size of the previous one a few doors down the block, and he's expanded the specialty printing business.
How has the business succeeded? Mr. Hoctor credits the quality of service from his 14 employees, three of whom are part-time. His wife Janice and his mother handle the accounts receivable for the two stores. During peak sales periods, his 17-year-old son Collin, and about-to-be 14-year-old daughter Shannon, pitch in.
Personal service
The Hoctor approach to a successful business has several parts. The key, he says, is service.
"That's the bottom line. That's what we do best. I'll sell one file folder or one 30-cent pen. We smile. You want a bag, no problem. You want to put that 30-cent pen on your credit card because you forgot your money, don't worry. We just say come back. And they do."
The service also includes charge accounts and one-on-one help when it's needed. Mr. Hoctor says he delivers to good customers when they call for something and they can't leave the office. "I have one customer who needs me to put new cartridges in her fax and copier machines, or fix them when they jam, because she can't do it," he says.
Other customers bring in their typewriters (yes, typewriters are still used) to get help in changing the ribbons. "We still carry typewriter ribbons, and we get ink all over our hands replacing them. But it's something I've always done, and I'm not going to stop."
Delegating work
He also trusts his employees and delegates responsibility. Not trying to do everything himself, he says, was one of the hardest things to learn.
"I have a good staff that has been here a long time. Laura Fichou has been with me on and off for 20 years and others for five and 10 years. They know how to run the business."
Last year, he had a heart-bypass operation, and "the staff was great" in running the business for six weeks without a hitch. But when this reporter visited the store, Mr. Hoctor was vacuuming the floors and rearranging merchandise on shelves.
Wide selection
Among Village Stationers' more than 10,000 products is a "nice blend of office and social products," he says. From paper clips of all sizes to a wide selection of imprinted wedding invitations, Mr. Hoctor says he looks for the best items, some of which you don't see in other stores.
"Our real specialties are our stationery, greeting cards and invitations," he says. "We're not a cookie-cutter store. We go out looking for unique products, and we keep our eyes open when we're vacationing in Hawaii or San Diego, for example, to find items that will appeal to our customers."
Location
Finally, the location for his 5,000-square-foot Menlo Park store is important, he points out. "It is perfect for drop-in business. We're right in the middle of everything in downtown Menlo Park where there is a lot of foot traffic. In this store, our customers are basically people who are long-time Menlo Park residents."
But, he says, there are an increasing number of customers with babies in strollers and some from the "high-tech crowd." The Palo Alto store serves mainly business people.
Customer support
On a recent afternoon, the Almanac interviewed several customers who were shopping for last-minute valentine cards, pens and invitations.
Shawn Harlan, who works at Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing, was looking for the right valentine. "I'm trying to support small businesses, and I'm tired of seeing places go out of business, because of higher rents," she says.
Another customer was small-business owner Barbara Huber, who has shopped at Village Stationers for 20 years. "I always come here first," she says. "They have everything. I got my wedding invitations here."
Mel Melnicoff, a high-tech public relations specialist, has used the store for the seven years that she has lived in Menlo Park. "They have the best selections, and I like the people that work here," she says. "I usually end up buying more than I came in for, because they have so many interesting things."
Village Stationers is open six days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and until 5:30 p.m. Saturday. "We are closed on Sunday so that everyone can have a day off," says Mr. Hoctor, who works an average of 50 hours a week.
This schedule also gives him time to get away from the paper clips and drive one of his beloved Mustangs on the highway and racetracks, including Sears Point and Laguna Seca.
