Looking back (and into the future) with Decker & Beebe

NORTH CANAAN — Decker & Beebe, the heating and appliance store that has earned its spot as a pillar of Northwest Corner home living, wasn’t always called Decker & Beebe. It actually started as Decker & Alvord, named for William Decker and J.H. Alvord, 110 years ago.

As Tom Schaefer, Decker & Beebe’s (D&B) current vice president, explained, Decker served as a butler in Norfolk before going to plumbing school in New York City and graduating in 1899.

In 1907,  Decker & Alvord was established as a business. By 1914, Schaefer said, Alvord was out and Hiram Beebe became the business’ investor.

Hiram also sent his brother, Bill, to work as bookkeeper for the appliance store. Bill stayed with the business for nearly 60 years.

In 1945, George J. Schaefer bought in and became one of multiple owners of D&B. Two generations later, George Schaefer’s grandsons, Tom and Joe, serve as the business’s vice president and president, respectively.

Tom Schaefer explained in a phone interview that in the 1980s and 1990s, Decker & Beebe expanded as other local appliance stores were closing down.

There was — and is — a “lot of pressure from the lumberyards, Home Depots and Lowes of the world,” Schaefer said.

To adapt to the changing market, the Schaefers started selling luxury appliances from companies such as Sub-Zero and Viking, in addition to products from companies such as General Electric.

In 2017, Decker & Beebe faces the latest market change: a generation of millennials.  And the Schaefers are paying attention.

“The way you shop,” he said, refering to this reporter, who is 23 years old, “is different from the way I learned to shop.” 

Tom Schaefer is 55. “You communicate differently,” he said of the younger generation.

He stressed the importance of maintaining a strong website, as well as learning how to use social media marketing techniques.

Schaefer even attended a class with his brother all about the millennial consumer market.

Decker & Beebe currently employs several individuals in their early-to-mid 20s.

“I think it’s important,” Schaefer said about understanding the younger market.  Having a young staff helps to “keep you on your toes,” he added.

With 110 years in the books, D&B president Joe Schaefer said he hopes the business will continue to grow in the future. Constantly adapting, this versatile, business-savvy team strides full-speed ahead.