We Started A Podcast!
New episodes launch on the first Tuesday of every month!
In each episode, Adam and Craig discuss the Brown’s Shoe Fit Company opportunity, among other business topics. We also talk to other retailers about their wins and challenges, and brand leaders about the current state of business.
Future guests include our very own Cammie McKenzie; our store owners, Glen Barad – Taos; Kitty Bolinger – Dansko; Josh Habre – ERHCo, Inc.; Chris Heffernan – Brunt; Bryan Poerner – Diadora and more!
Watch our first episode below, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, or wherever else you like to listen to podcasts. Make sure to subscribe and follow @brownsshoepodcast over on Instagram so you don’t miss an episode!
With You Every Step: A Brown’s Shoe Fit Company Experience
In our very first episode, hosts Adam Smith and Craig Jarrard pull back the curtain on what Brown’s Shoe Fit really is: a people-first ownership company rooted in community, mentorship, and the belief that human connection is the foundation of lasting retail success.
Future episodes will bring in Brown’s store owners to share their individual journeys, alongside business leaders from inside and outside the footwear industry. Each episode will close with one guest’s most valuable piece of business advice — the kind you can actually act on.
“One customer at a time. Every person, every need, every situation is unique — and when you go all in on that, you build customers for life, not just transactions.”
— Craig Jarrard, With You Every Step · Episode 001
Need a recap? Check out our blog!
Watch our first episode now on Youtube!
Or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, or wherever else you like to listen to podcasts.
With You Every Step · Episode 001
How a Family Shoe Store Became a 115-Year Investment Company — The Story of Brown’s Shoe Fit
In our very first episode, hosts Adam Smith and Craig Gerrard pull back the curtain on what Brown’s Shoe Fit really is: a people-first ownership company rooted in community, mentorship, and the belief that human connection is the foundation of lasting retail success.
| Episode | 001 |
| Hosts | Adam Smith & Craig Gerrard |
| Format | Founder stories · Business philosophy · Ownership opportunity |
Episode Summary
Brown’s Shoe Fit has been fitting families across the Midwest and beyond since 1911 — and this first episode tells the story of how it all started. Craig shares how founder Win Brown opened the original Shenandoah, Iowa store with just $1,700 and a wall of empty shoe boxes, building trust through customer perception before he even had the inventory to back it up. That same philosophy — people over transactions — still drives every one of Brown’s 73 store locations today.
Craig’s own journey began in childhood, cleaning ashtrays and vacuuming floors after close at his father’s store. By his junior year of high school, he knew he wanted to own one. After training under two very different managers in Cheyenne, Wyoming — one a natural on the sales floor, one a master of the back room — he opened his Alva, Oklahoma location in 1992 and later his Fort Dodge, Iowa store in 1996, which he’s now approaching 30 years of operating.
Adam reflects on nearly 15 years with the company — from training in Longmont, Colorado, to stores in Sterling and Jacksonville, to his current role near the corporate office — and both hosts explore what makes Brown’s owners different: self-driven, community-rooted, and genuinely invested in the people they serve.
Key Themes Covered
What Brown’s Shoe Fit Actually Is
Not a franchise, not a chain — an investment company that sells shoes. Ownership is structured the same way it was in 1921, when Win Brown offered Charlie Perry a stake in a second location. Every current owner buys in through the training program, and no outside capital has ever entered the company.
Human Connection as Competitive Advantage
In an era of AI and social media, Craig and Adam argue the thing that separates great retailers isn’t technology — it’s the ability to make every customer feel seen. They reference Danny Meyer’s “make me feel special” principle and the book Unreasonable Hospitality as touchstones for how Brown’s trains and thinks about service.
Surviving and Growing Through COVID-19
Craig recounts the night in March 2020 when Iowa’s governor ordered retail to close — a first in 110 years of company history. With doors locked through May 1st, Craig’s Fort Dodge team finished 2020 down just 1%. The episode explores how community loyalty and a care-first culture helped Brown’s not only survive but emerge stronger, entering a six-year record growth run.
“One customer at a time. Every person, every need, every situation is unique — and when you go all in on that, you build customers for life, not just transactions.”
— Craig Gerrard
What’s Coming Next
Future episodes will bring in Brown’s store owners to share their individual journeys, alongside business leaders from inside and outside the footwear industry. Each episode will close with one guest’s most valuable piece of business advice — the kind you can actually act on.
Interested in ownership?
