Ms. Brown's brings shopping oasis to downtown

The downtown location at 330 South Ave. was established May 21. The original store at 1815 E. Grand celebrated five years in business June 22.

Cathey Brown, THE Ms. Brown, said her goal is to provide a soothing haven for her customers. She wants her stores “looking nice, smelling nice and feeling nice. I want (them) to be an oasis in the middle of driving, hassling and running. Come into Ms. Brown’s and just feel good.”

That feel-good approach extends to the items she offers for sale. “I don’t carry denim; if something is scratchy I don’t carry it on the racks.”

She also doesn’t carry a lot of any one item, because uniqueness is also part of the experience. Brown seeks unique products at large markets in New York and Las Vegas, as well as imports from such places as India. “I don’t get a whole lot of any one item. You can pretty much be assured that you won’t see someone else wearing your outfit because I try to keep it exclusive. I never order more than half-a-dozen of one kind, and then I split them up between stores,” Brown said.

Besides clothing, the stores carry accessories such as jewelry and purses, as well as novelty items including buttons, magnets and stickers, which are big sellers, along with candles, incense and bath products.

Marketing Ms. Brown’s

While atmosphere and product mix are part of the equation that’s allowed the small local retailer to succeed – and expand – customer loyalty also plays a significant role.

Brown said she got a mailing list going early on and uses it to keep her customers informed of events such as tent sales and fashion shows.

Brown said there is always a good turnout for both types of events.

A fashion show for this year is in the planning process and will be held at the Highlife Martini Lounge, 322 South Ave. Since it is a few doors down from Downtown Ms. Brown’s, Brown said the event might turn into a parade, with the models getting dressed at her shop and walking down to the Highlife. Last year’s theme, Brown said, was Mardi Gras, and the show includes food as well as fashion. Admission is $5.

Brown’s target market is women of all ages. “I really want for the daughter, mom, grandma and everybody to be able to find something they like to wear,” Brown said.

Between the two stores, Brown works to meet the diverse tastes of different age groups. Downtown Ms. Brown’s tends to cater to the younger tastes, while the original Ms. Brown’s has more of what Brown describes as “mom and teacher kind of

styles.” Brown emphasized, however, that there still are items that cross age ranges in both stores.

“I want to make it worth the time for people to drive from here to there. We do mix some up so we get a good size selection,” Brown said. Also, she said some clothing brands are exclusive to each location.

Her customers are also her advertising.

“When ladies leave here looking good their friends ask, ‘Where did you get that?’” Brown said. “I hear the name of my stores everywhere. People are recognizing the style. Word of mouth is the reason I’m successful.”

Brown said she opened Downtown Ms. Brown’s because she always wanted a downtown location and because she wants to be part of revitalizing the downtown area.

“Over there on Grand, the store isn’t as visible. Down here I have visibility,” Brown said.

Doing what she loves

“This particular type of business has always been my dream,” Brown said. “I’ve had big inspiration from shops in Eureka Springs and where I travel on vacation. This was always what I wanted to do.”

Brown has a lot of experience in retail. For instance, she said, she worked at Kaleidoscope for 20 years prior to opening her own store.

“I don’t measure success by the amount of money I make. I measure my personal success by having the ability to do this and having the great ladies around me to help pull it all off,” Brown said. Eight employees keep the two stores going.

Last year, Brown said she had more than $100,000 in gross sales. Because of the impact of opening and stocking the new downtown location, sales income is running about half that this year, Brown said.

Despite the pangs that come with growth, in the future Brown would like to have another Ms. Brown’s store, perhaps in another city or state.

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