Walker steps in as Brown’s manager, owner

Jasmine Walker Owner/Store Manager, Brown’s Shoe Fit Company

Brown’s Shoe Fit Company has a new owner and manager.

Jasmine Walker, a 2015 graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in marketing, took over as the owner and store manager of the Maryville shoe shop at the end of September.

Now with a month on the job, Walker said she wants to increase the store’s presence in the community.

“We want to do a lot more with the community on Facebook,” Walker said. “I’ve already run a shoe giveaway on Facebook, and I want to do more of that.

“We also want to get out more in the community as a whole and make sure that our name is out there. There’s a lot the community doesn’t really know about shoes.”

Walker said the main source of misinformation is the fact that some have gotten used to shoes hurting their feet. She said that wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I had one person come in and start out with, ‘I know my feet will hurt anyway,’ and I cut her off right there,” Walker said. “Having your feet hurt isn’t normal, so don’t let it be normal.

“Your feet are one of the most important parts of your body. You have to make sure you’re comfortable in your shoes.”

Walker has been with Brown’s Shoe Fit Company since 2015, when she started working at the store in Stillwater, Oklahoma while still enrolled at Oklahoma State. She said she entered the store’s corporate management program from there, and after completing the program, she was transferred to the store in Marion, Iowa.

She worked in Iowa for one year before coming to Maryville to take over management and ownership of the store. Before starting with Browns, she worked with a locally-owned shop in Stillwater.

With a month in Maryville under her belt, Walker said she noticed right away that everyone knows everyone.

“You see it everywhere, people just know people and are very friendly,” Walker said. “If they don’t know who you are, they want to get to know right away.

“I overheard some people talking the other day about their shoes, and I noticed that the shoes she wanted were part of our collection. So I told them about it, and a few days later, the woman came into Brown’s and said, ‘Remember me? We were talking the other day about the shoes,’ and I got her taken care of.”

She also noticed that the town shuts down for football games at Northwest Missouri State University and at Maryville High School. While she hasn’t gotten a chance to see either team play, she said she looks forward to getting everything settled so that she can be in the stands on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon.

Walker also mentioned that she is running a promotion in the store, where customers can receive a discount for coming in to meet the new manager.

For more information on the store and any discounts or promotions, visit the store’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brownsmaryville.