Shoe Country

Owner: Tony Dickerson

Est.: 1974

Address: 1180 West Main Shopping Center, Tupelo

Phone: (662) 844-8400

Employees: 7

Hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Primary business: Sales of men’s and women’s shoes

Facebook: Shoe Country Tupelo, MS

Advice: “Work long, hard hours and treat your customers the way you want to be treated.”

Tony Dickerson started out as an educator. He taught math and social studies in Nettleton.

“I needed something to do on the side, so I bought out a shoe store,” he said. “Thirty-seven years later, I’m still in the shoe business.”

He picked the shoe industry because shoes are a need, he likes people and he wanted to combine the two.

“I thought that would be one way to help people out,” he said.

The original store in Nettleton closed years ago, but Dickerson continues to tweak his Tupelo shop. It’s now grown to four storefronts in the West Main Shopping Center.

“We’ve got 10,000 square feet and it’s wall to wall,” he said.

Corey Chunn is the manager.

Shoe Country carries footwear for men and women. The store has boots, sandals, high heels, rainboots, health shoes, orthopedic shoes and dress shoes. It also carries women’s apparel, purses and accessories.

Popular brands are Vibram FiveFingers, BOBS from Skechers, Merrell, SAS, Beautifeel, Taos and Mephisto.

Dickerson and his employees measure and fit shoes for each customer. He also emphasizes a retail culture where each customer is individually waited on and employees are familiar with the brands and styles.

And, he greets many of the customers by name as they enter.

“We’ve had some customers for 37 years,” he said.