How it all started in the 1860's !!

The current owners, Marina and Juliana  Brock's great, great grandfather William Brock came to Scugog from Cobourg as a labourer in the 1860's – in the days of the grain trade. He settled in Prince Albert where he worked for the Cowan Bros. While in Prince Albert, he met Samuel Barber – a local 
merchant. William married 
Samuel's daughter Sarah Barber.

When the railway came to Port 
Perry, the town quickly became 
the main trading centre in the 
area. It basically closed Prince 
Albert down….. everything moved 
to Port Perry…..and so did William 
Brock.

First Generation in 1881......

In 1881 he opened his store called 
W. Brock. It was originally located 
on the north west corner of Queen Street and Perry Street where the Piano Café is now located. William sold dry goods, furs, clothing, footwear, china, linens, yard goods…..it was ‘the old general store.' One important item that he sold a lot of was coal oil. William's store burned in the fire in 1884. He re-opened in a new location on Queen Street, where Perry Ann's is today. William found a niche in ‘fire sales' – selling goods that were slightly smoke damaged.

In the early 1900's...

William relocated to the south side of Queen Street – where Brock's ladies wear in now located. William was joined by his three sons; Frederick, Harold and Harry, in the family business. William passed away in 1917. The boys changed the name of the store to Brock Bros. Next time you are in today's Brock's ladies wear shop, look up on the wall at the cash desk and you will see the original W. Brock sign.

2nd Generation - Frederick Brock

Frederick married Hanna Sophia Parr from Blackstock. Her family owned the Blackstock store and she had worked there growing up. Hanna Sophia was the first woman to have a strong involvement in the family business. Fredrick was joined in partnership with their son Arthur and the name was changed to F.W. Brock and Son. This is the name that you can see embossed in painted gold letters above the ladies wear store. There is no modern sign on the ladies wear storefront today, so as not to detract from this historical lettering.

3rd Generation – Arthur Brock

In the late 1920's, Frederick and Arthur expanded to the back part of the building that now houses our Men's wear shop. The front of this building was the Standard Bank. Frederick and Arthur opened a Red and White grocery franchise that was supplied by National Grocer in this space and opened up the back door for business. Later, the Standard Bank relocated to where the TD Bank is today and Arthur opened a men's wear shop in the front of the store were it remains today.

Picking up on the current trends, Frederick and Arthur also added wallpaper and linoleum flooring to their merchandise mix. They set up a room on the second floor. The walls were lined with rolls of wallpaper and the linoleum was housed on large rolls. Customers would sit and be presented the wallpaper patterns, one by one.   The Brock family still have the chairs and a selection of the wallpaper.

In 1930, at age 25, Arthur married Marguerite Jackson. At that time, linoleum had become a big business for Brock's. Arthur realized he was missing out on a great opportunity by just selling the linoleum – he needed to install it as well. Linoleum was extremely heavy. Arthur, being young and fit, enrolled in a course to learn specialized techniques in laying linoleum. He learned how to lay it with special inlays (pictures or images), which was popular and new at the time. It was this linoleum business that helped Brock's survive the depression.

In the 1950's, Brock's went out of the grocery business. Frederick passed away in 1955. Arthur changed the name to A.W. Brock Department Store. Business continued as usual. Major changes were not necessary, for business was prosperous after the war. Arthur was selling clothing, footwear, toys, yard goods, wool and knitting and sewing supplies, blinds, drapery and drapery hardware and wallpaper. The trend in flooring changed from linoleum to tile and carpet and as always, Arthur changed with times.

As Arthur aged, he operated the business with the help of his wife Marguerite and longstanding employee, Audrey Geer. His son William (better known as Bill) had become a high school teacher but helped his father keep the books after school hours.

4th Generation – William (Bill) and Claudette Brock

In 1983, Bill was still teaching full time. Bill's wife Claudette began to help out at the store – first with window dressing, and eventually with buying trips to Toronto and managing the everyday operation of the business. Once again, it was time for some changes…it was time to focus on fashion and become a little less of a department store. Bill and Claudette phased out the businesses of  blinds, drapery hardware and wallpaper. They focused on family fashions, footwear, linens and yard goods, wool and sewing accessories. They repainted the store in the traditional green that you see today replacing the red of several decades. Bill and Claudette introduced the idea of ‘specials' and clearance sales to Brock's. They also established the infamous Back of the Store Sale that people flock to each summer.

5th Generation – Marina and Juliana Brock

In May of 1993, Marina Brock took over operations of the store. Bill continued doing the book keeping for a few years and retired in 1996. Claudette stayed on and worked with her daughter helping with the buying and other duties. Juliana Brock joined her sister in 1996.

Marina and Juliana began by completely redecorating and the store – some paint, and new pine fixtures – while always maintaining it's old fashion charm. The old tiles that Arthur had put down on the floor were pulled up to show the original hardwood from the days of Frederick and William. New buying, merchandising and marketing strategies were put into effect. They removed the department store image to focus primarily on specialized brands of fashion, footwear, outerwear and accessories. Marina and Juliana implemented barcodes, point of sale systems and introduced the “Brock's Gold Card”. They expanded the Brock's business to include “four store fronts under one roof”. They expanded to create Brock's for Kids and Brock's on Foot in Port Perry and then expanded into the Kawarthas, with BROCKS N*O*R*T*H in Fenelon Falls.

The next endeavour was the current expansion of Brock's on Foot ; essentially doubling the square footage to position Brock's as ‘one of the largest footwear selections in the Durham Region' They are offering a more extensive selection of brand names from around the world with an emphasis on European styling and quality.