Kickers shoes are the most popular shoes for teenagers after trainers. They are famous for their thick, hefty, rubber soles, and high levels of comfort. One of the latest models is the Parka which costs £50.
Kickers shoes are well known for their durability. Watchdog has received complaints from parents, however, telling us that the Parka model has been wearing away within weeks of purchase.

Janet Grahame, a schoolgirl from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland has always liked to wear Kickers shoes. Before the new school term in September, Janet’s mother Elizabeth bought her a pair of Parka Kickers for school, as they were sold to her as school shoes.

A few weeks into the new term Elizabeth noticed the heels were starting to wear away.

In fact the heel had worn through from the top piece, into the heel itself.

Janet only wears the shoes for school which is about seven hours a day. She says she never wears them at the weekend and takes them off the moment she gets home. The heel had worn through after 21 days. In total she had only worn the shoes for 147 hours.

Emma McVitty, from County Tyrone, also has a pair of Kickers Parka shoes. After two weeks of wearing the shoes to school, she noticed a clicking sound. When she checked her shoes, she noticed a hole had developed in both heels.

Louise Taylor from Surrey also had a pair of Kickers Parka shoes for school. Her mother Jean noticed only after about a week of wearing them that the heels were beginning to wear down. After about a month, she noticed holes in the heels. She couldn’t believe that a pair of new shoes could wear down so quickly.

Louise wears her Kickers for school every day and for work on Saturdays. She says she doesn’t wear them for any sport or when she goes out with her friends.

Watchdog took the shoes for an inspection to Richard Earle, who is the former President of the Society of Master Shoe Repairers.

He says the problem is that the heel is made of poor quality vinyl plastic which doesn’t wear at all well.

The top piece of the heel can be prized off very easily from the rest of the heel, and underneath, there is a hollow plastic shell. Richard says he wouldn’t recommend the shoes for school use since 8 hours a day, 5 days a week is too much pressure for this type of heel. He thinks they are much better suited for social use, once a week.

Kickers say they are taking this matter very seriously and that they apply rigorous standards of industry approved testing on all ranges.