Rick Ravel (right) is the owner and president of Karavel Shoes Inc., an Austin original that began in 1937. Ravel took over the business about 30 years ago.[/caption]

Rick Ravel said he still remembers his first shoe sale as a 14-year-old. Now his company, Karavel Shoes, which he inherited from his father, Irving, is an 80-year-old business after surviving contraction and going bankrupt in the 1980s.

The Austin company celebrated its anniversary April 5. A men’s and women’s footwear retailer, Karavel Shoes emphasizes customer service and comfort in the products it carries, Rick said.

“I’m in the relationship business,” he said. “We build relationships with customers.”

Rick said the business takes an old-fashioned approach to customer service. After a customer enters the store, a sales associate measures both of his or her feet, he said.

With an average customer age of 65 and because many people experience foot problems, the store is diligent in finding the right fit for its customers, he said.

“Even people who have been in before, we want to remeasure because the foot’s constantly changing,” he said. “One of the bases behind this is our orthopedic background.”

As a certified pedorthist, Rick modifies shoes and other footwear to correct foot problems. The store has two other pedorthists on staff.

Karavel has “the largest collection of comfort shoes in the Southwest,” he said. Rick carries 40-plus brands of women’s shoes and about 20 brands of men’s shoes. Sizes range from 5-13 for women and in a narrow width for most sizes. Men’s sizes range from 7-17 with medium to wide and some narrow shoes.

Irving opened the business in 1937 with Bob Karotkin. Their last names combined to form Kara-Vel Shoe Stores. After Rick took over the business about 30 years ago, the business dropped the hyphen.

In the 1980s, Karavel filed for bankruptcy and survived after closing most of its stores. The company now operates two stores, with a Round Rock location carrying primarily activewear in addition to its outlet store and wellness department in Austin.

Part of the recipe for Karavel’s longevity has been luck, Rick said, but he also pointed to its adaptiveness. He cited an example of when the company transitioned from selling children’s shoes to men’s and women’s footwear after seeing national retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart dominate the market.

“One [part] of it has to do with luck,” he said. “Bottom line, we just evolved.”