Why Are Skechers Hated? (Interesting Facts)

Why Are Skechers Hated? (Interesting Facts)

Remember when Skechers used to be cool back in the early 90s? As soon as the brand launched, it became super popular amongst the young generation. Following that, sneakerheads started giving value to the bulky shoes with colorful designs from Skechers and started collecting Skechers lineups with the other popular brands.

It seemed Skechers had broken through the big leagues of sneaker brands. But just after a decade, the Skechers brand started to see a downfall in its popularity as customers of Skechers started reporting various faults.

There is no denying Skechers aren’t as popular as they used to be. There is a good amount of reason behind the current state of Skechers. Here we will try to understand what brought down Skechers brand reputation as per the reviews from the users of Skechers shoes.

✒️History of Skechers

Founded in 1992 in southwestern California, Skechers is an American footwear brand mainly focused on making athletic shoes and sneakers. The CEO of Skechers first opened his shop as a distribution outlet for Doc Martens shoes. He kept up the distribution business for a year.

Meantime he was putting most of his time designing shoes for his brand. Soon he came out with Skechers shoes targeted towards the young generation as cool, unique, and hip footwear. It grabbed a significant portion of the market in few months after release.

One of the first shoes from Skechers was the”Chrome Dome” which featured a unisex outlook made of jeans material. It was a huge hit and became an iconic shoe model among the youths.

Why Are Skechers Hated? (Interesting Facts)

✒️Why Does Everyone Hate Skechers?

Skechers couldn’t hold their initial popularity to this day in the future. As the brand grew bigger, it started to cut back on quality and innovations, the main ingredients of its success. Customers began to report issues against Skechers shoes, and soon enough, Skechers was not “cool” anymore.

In fact, netizens started showing hatred towards the brand on social media and forums. Here are some of the complaints from customers that we believe caused the hate for Skechers.

✤ Poor Material Quality

Though Skechers made strong and comfortable shoes initially, the quality of the material of their shoes has been getting worse for the past few years. Complaints from users around the world suggest that the shoe quality is not living up to their expectations anymore.

The shoes are not lasting long, and the sides of the shoes are tearing just after a few months of usage. It might be possible that Skechers started using cheap material to bring down the cost of their shoes as we know Skechers are more economical than most other brands, but it is taking a toll on their reputation.

Customers want long time durability and comfort from branded shoes. However, if a famous shoe brand fails to satisfy customers’ requirements, then hatred is inevitable.

You can also check our article on whether Skechers are good for your feet or not.

✤ Zero Innovation in Design

In a competitive market such as footwear, it is easy to lose footing as a brand if the shoes aren’t attractive to the customers. Although the sneakers from Skechers were attractive to young people when they first came out, nowadays, the shoe lack creative design.

We researched in various forums and every time came to the same conclusion that Skechers lacks innovations in their shoe designs. Whereas other companies are coming out with new designs every year, Skechers are recycling their old models every year without tending to the customer’s creative need.

Why Are Skechers Hated? (Interesting Facts)

✤ Stolen Ideas

Skechers has been fighting various lawsuits for stealing shoe designs and ideas from other reputable brands for many years. Sneakerheads admire their favorite shoe brands because each brand has its unique style and design.

The different brands offer innovation in different parts of a shoe. These unique design ideas stick to the customers for a long time, and as a result, the customers stay loyal to their brands. But if your go-to brand starts stealing ideas from other brands in the market, the brand loses the uniqueness it has to offer and becomes unappealing to the customers. This is the very reason behind the hate for Skechers.

✤ Less Celebrity Endorsement

At first, Skechers started showing off their shoes through athletes and celebrities. As the brand is based in California, it has had close ties to Hollywood from the beginning. This led to early popularity and a boost in sales in the company.

But since its glory days, Skechers is yet to be seen endorsed by a big-time celebrity. Most customers look up to their idols, in this case, celebrities, and try to follow their lifestyles. Thus, one is greatly influenced when they see their favorite celebrity suggesting a pair of shoes, and they are sure to buy it in their next shopping haul.

Why Are Skechers Hated? (Interesting Facts)

✤ Poor Marketing Strategy

When you look for a shoe in the footwear market, you don’t see advertisements for Skechers like you used to in the early years of the renowned footwear brand. Whereas other companies like Nike, Adidas, or Puma are seen everywhere you go.

Their logo has become a staple site in the sneakers market. It seems that the marketing department of Skechers has yet to step up its game.

✤ Not Considered “Cool”

Since the downfall of their popularity, Skechers has gained a negative reputation among the younger generation in recent years. If a kid goes to school wearing Skechers, suddenly he or she is considered “not cool” to the other kids. This negativity towards Skechers is one of the main reasons why the brand is hated.

✤ Possible Health Hazards

There are some reports online which show that some customers experienced possible foot pain after switching to Skechers. Though the legitimacy of such statements is in question, such news has had a bad influence on the potential customers of Skechers.

You can also read our article, are Skechers comfortable for walking?

✒️Skechers Alternatives

Skechers aren’t all that bad despite all the recent negativity towards the brand. However, if you are not feeling confident with this particular brand, there are plenty of other alternatives available in the market.

Air maxes and Jordans from Nike, Ultraboosts from Adidas, and Puma sneakers are to name a few. Still, we suggest you try out some shoes from Skechers before jumping into any decisions.

7 thoughts on “Why Are Skechers Hated? (Interesting Facts)”

  1. Folks who hate Skechers must have nothing else to worry about (I’d say more but they must be the overly-worrisome or overly-sensitive types). I don’t care about loss of celebrity endorsement or lack of innovative design. If they make plain and decent shoes, I appreciate that.

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  2. It’s because they are cheap (cost and materials) and they are not seen as a serious brand. While they are marketed as “comfort” shoes they are not recommended by podiatrists. As one of the original 90s Skechers generation, I’m older now. I wear Hokas for walking and short hikes, Brooks or Saucony for running, and KSwiss for tennis. For a trendier look, Adidas has good options.

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  3. Honestly I don’t know why skechers are considered uncool people just wanted a new pair of shoes and that is not something people should be bullied about if a person is wearing skechers they are just wearing shoes and shouldn’t care about opinions of others because there is no point.

    Reply
  4. I’m furious with this company. I cancelled my order 1/2 hour after I placed it. They refused to acknowledge the timing of my cancellation. They will not talk to me. The few ppl I did talk to were totally useless.
    This is not the way to do business!!!!

    They simply don’t care what I have to say.

    All I want now is a return label emailed to me. Every time I go to where they tell me to get one, is Not helpful.

    I will report them to the BBB. If they can’t be accessible to their customers, they should shut down this business.

    Too bad, I love Skechers, been wearing them for Years.

    Reply

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