Keep it Local: Softstar Shoes

Winning with Employee Ownership

PHILOMATH, Ore., Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Softstar Shoes, a local footwear manufacturer, is proud to announce its transition to a 100% Employee-Owned company. The 40-year-old company is well known for its colorful and comfortable minimal leather shoes and employs thirty employees in Oregon's central valley. 

Softstar recently transitioned to employee ownership using a model called an Employee-Owned Trust (EOT). While this is a common model in the United Kingdom, it's relatively new in the USA and is gaining traction, and for good reason. A Trust is unique in that it can define a business purpose for perpetuity. In the case of Softstar, the purpose is to ensure their mission of sustainable, quality products that promote a healthier world will be preserved for generations to come, for the benefit of its current and future employees.

How Employee-Owned Trusts Create a Winning Edge:

Employee ownership models are often associated with an overall financial performance edge over traditional models, as employees have a direct financial stake in the work they do. At a company the size of Softstar, almost all employees will have the opportunity to participate and rotate through the peer-elected Trust Stewardship Committee, which will help employees gain more business acumen and governance skills. The Trust format has further competitive advantages in that it ensures the company will never be sold, and all profits will be invested in coworker compensation and the company's future. This level of certainty allows for more employee engagement and commitment to build a workplace that they have a democratic voice in. The permanence also sustains local jobs which benefits the area community and helps employee owners build wealth.

Ownership Transition:

Former owners Sal and Tricia Salcido led the company for over 20 years, building a culture of creative makers where family and friends felt welcome. Indeed, the workshop was home to their own children growing up, and a culture of connectivity and inclusivity was carefully cultivated. Being "makers" was important as they understood the satisfaction of making a good product and strongly believed in connecting customers to the people behind it. The Salcidos explored exit options and were attracted to the Employee Ownership model as a way for the company to remain true to its mission. They had watched other business owners in their family sell their businesses and witnessed first-hand the heartbreak that ensued when everything they had invested their lives in was broken up, run down, or moved out of the community. For them, Softstar had been a force of good, and they wanted to preserve an employee centric culture and a legacy of quality sustainable products. With the help of Project Equity, a national consulting group that promotes employee ownership, the Salcidos decided to "trust the Trust" model. Over the course of more than a year, Project Equity guided them through the process of establishing a Trust, growing new skills in the company and ultimately helping them exit financially via Project Equity's network of mission-driven financial supporters.

About Softstar Shoes:

Softstar is an employee owned, certified B Corp that has been designing and handcrafting minimal leather footwear in the USA since 1985.

Contact:
Anna Lammers
541-753-5845
[email protected]

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SOURCE Softstar Shoes