FROM FOOTWEAR PLUS: M PENNER

Retail runs in Murry Penner’s blood. The co-owner and CEO of M Penner comes from a line of Texas entrepreneurs. His mother’s family owned a group of East Texas stores named Hurwitz Man Shop, while his paternal grandfather and great-uncles started San Antonio shops, Penner’s, in 1916, and Todd’s in 1933. In 1974, Murry’s father, Morris Penner, opened M Penner, a luxury specialty store in Houston.

Murry didn’t join the family business right away. His career began at Macy’s in New York. After a year, he returned to Houston and worked at Marshall Field’s. Then, with M Penner nearing its 10th anniversary and sales growing, his dad asked for help. In 2006, Murry and his wife Karen bought the business.

M Penner carries oxfords from Bontoni and Magnanni, penny loafers from Di Bianco and Santoni, and sneakers from Premiata and Zegna, among others. Footwear represents seven percent of total sales. The store also offers helpful services like complimentary alterations, closet cleaning, personal shopping, home delivery, and an extensive made-to-measure program.

Making customers feel good about themselves is M Penner’s top priority. “We know your name and what you like, and if we don’t know you, we’ll get to know you, and we’ll make you feel great,” Penner says. “We love to help men live their best lives and style, and everything radiates from that.” —K.M.

Happy belated 50th anniversary!
Thank you. When I think about being in business for 50 years, I wonder, ‘How the hell did we do that?’ We beat the odds, for sure. We had a big party attended by the people who made it happen: our family, customers, and employees.

What do you attribute your staying power to?
Number one: How we treat our customers, suppliers, and employees. Second: Our unwavering commitment to change. We have a saying: The best way to lose a customer is to bore him. We’re always looking for fresh ideas. We want to stay ahead of the curve.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome?
My dad, who was demanding, but also good at this job. I had to fight for everything until I learned it all. That took years, but it did us both good. During an ’80s energy crash he asked, “Don’t you have any fear?” I didn’t, but if things had broken a little differently, we could’ve gone out of business. I came to really appreciate that question.

What can customers experience at M Penner that they won’t elsewhere or online?
There’s no personal interaction whatsoever online. They can’t experience our level of hospitality and the beauty of our merchandise. Anybody who walks in will be impressed by our displays. There’s also always somebody here to greet you. We’re not pushy, and we’re very knowledgeable about our goods.

Who is your core customer?
Any man who likes to be treated with the same hospitality and respect that he treats his customers. He wouldn’t be able to afford our store if he didn’t. He appreciates fashion, quality, and value.

How does fit, brand, style, and price rank in order of importance?
Fit, style, brand, price.

What are your top-selling shoe brands?
Zegna’s Triple Stitch is a big seller. It’s one of the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. Our other top brand is Santoni. The shoes are great quality and a little more sleek. We’ve also seen a movement towards sassy casual styles.

Are customers dressing up again post-Covid?
That’s been going on for three years. We chased athleisure a bit because we needed anything we could get. Now, we do elevated athleisure, but we don’t chase that business. While there’s definitely a movement towards dressing up again, a lot of that depends on retailers. Nothing happens in retail unless retailers make it happen. We have to love it, and we can’t be scared of showing something new.

Any perennial styles?
Perennial styles are sort of against my religion. Our philosophy is to devote a good portion of our open-to-buys to challenging the status quo. Everything comes to an end, and everything recycles. If our suppliers don’t believe that, they’re not going to be important to us for very long.

What is the best new shoe brand added to your mix of late?
Bontoni. The brand fits with everything we do. We carry great penny loafers and classic cap toes reimagined in very creative ways. It’s a high-quality shoe with a wonderful fit. The finishes and the rubs are great.

Are your footwear sales growing?
Yes. We work with very knowledgeable people from Wallace, the company in charge of our shoe department. They’ve become more open to experimentation, which is what everybody has to do in this business to survive.

What is the smartest business decision you’ve made recently?
We remodeled the floors, dressing rooms, and layout. We took out a 20-year-old cabinet table that held 2,000 ties. We’re lucky to carry 200 ties now. People love the refresh. It allows the store to be merchandised much more effectively.

What are you most proud of regarding M Penner?
That I have family in the business. I’m also proud of my staff. I get compliments all the time about how great they are. And I’m proud when I open the front door each day and people see who we are.

What do you love most about your job?
I love our employees and customers. I love not being in a cubicle. I love when customers send pictures of our work and say how great a time they had and the compliments they received about how great they looked at a special event. That never gets old.

 

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Originally published March 2025 print edition of Footwear Plus.