From Mother to Daughter

Elmy Savoie | Marketing Administrator, Synergy Bank
May 1, 2020
Overcoming Challenges
May 1, 2020
Elmy Savoie | Marketing Administrator, Synergy Bank
May 1, 2020
Overcoming Challenges
May 1, 2020

Felger’s Footwear Spans Two Generations of Women in Business

Felger’s Footwear, the family-owned Houma store known for selling the latest and greatest in therapeutic and stylish shoes and treating every customer that walks in like family, is led by the mother-daughter team of Brenda Felger and Rebecca Felger Romano.

Brenda and her husband Mark took over the store at its original location in Southland Mall in 1991, and since then, it’s been on a prosperous run.


That success has come with challenges along the way, Felger shared, such as being a woman-owned business in a male-driven industry. “You would think not with all of these women’s shoes, but it is predominantly male for some reason,” she said.

“At the time there weren’t a ton of women business owners. So just being taken seriously and accepted was hard, but that just took time,” she continued. “Once they got used to us and we got used to them, it was not a problem. But it was an obstacle at first.”

Like other local businesses, Felger’s Footwear’s latest challenge is having to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The store opened to appointments only (one person or parent and child at a time). It also implemented curbside pickups, or if the customer didn’t feel comfortable coming for that, employees did a non-contact delivery.


“If you take care of your customers, they’re going to keep coming back and going to tell their friends and, and all that does is grow,” Felger said.

She continued: “During all of this shutdown business, I had one customer call…and we told them we were closed because we weren’t considered essential. His words were, ‘But you are essential to me; my feet hurt.’ And it’s true — when your feet hurt, the rest of you hurts.”

While overcoming challenges along the way, the business has received much recognition since the Felgers took over nearly 30 years ago — winning various local and national awards with one of the latest being the Gold Medal Service Award for Outstanding Customer Service from Footwear Insight magazine last year, which the store was nominated for again this year.


The achievements can be linked to the training the staff receives and the products the store offers.

Each member of the Felger’s team is trained to measure customers’ feet and select the most comfortable fitting shoes for them. Working with such brands at New Balance, Aetrex, Vionic, Eastland, Dansko and other noteworthy vendors, the store provides a wide selection for back-to-school, therapeutic, comfort, style, exercise or any other shoe needs.

But even with the special training and highly favored brands, it’s the employees themselves and family-like atmosphere that the two are perhaps proud of the most. “The employees mean everything; they are the front line. They represent me, Felger’s — the company. They’re invaluable. We teach them what they need to know, and they do the rest,” Felger shared in a previous Bayou Business Monthly article. “They’re an extended part of our family. They might not have the same last name that we do, but they are part of our family,” Romano added.


A good owner has to listen and be attentive to their employees, Felger said, and be there for them. “You’re not necessarily their boss. You are their equal,” she continued.

Felger also shared some advice for future women business owners.

“One, be patient; it doesn’t happen overnight. Get all your ducks in a row before you sign anything. Make sure you know what products you may have; have your business plan and follow that plan,” she said. “Know that you can’t be everything to everybody. Get your niche — whatever that is — and be that. Be good at that.”


She makes sure to stay in touch with a few women-led businesses around town, Felger said, to call for advice and share ideas.

“Having that support of another woman who maybe has a very similar perspective helps confidence, helps make good decisions,” she continued. “Sometimes you have to step back and try and look at the bigger picture. And you can’t always do that by yourself.”