The Kenyan shoe brand Backyard Shoez has responded following an uproar from customers over the poor quality of some of their shoes which are said to tear after a few days of use.

In a statement, the Nairobi-based retailer of ladies’ footwear apologized to its clients and regretted the earlier handling of customer complaints.

In an earlier statement following numerous complaints on social, Backyard Shoez seemingly blamed its clients for failing to take good care of the shoes after purchase.

They had claimed some clients misuse, abuse, neglect, or expose the shoes to substances or environments that may be harmful hence resulting in the shoes becoming faulty.

In a follow-up statement, Backyard Shoez also asked aggrieved customers to return them to their Westland branch between June 2 and June 5, 2021.

“Backyard Shoez has for the last ten years been devoted to giving every woman confidence by styling them for different occasions with our unique, classy, comfortable, and fashion-forward shoes. Over the last two days, this commitment has however been tested, questioned, and doubted through merited customer complaints that were otherwise mishandled. We highly regret this,” the retailer said.

“As such we invite our customers with shoes that have a manufacturer’s defect purchased from any of our branches within the last six months to please bring them back to our Westlands branch between today June 2 and Saturday, June 5, 2021.

Additionally, Backyard Shoez will offer a discount for clients that will return a shoe.

“For every shoe with manufacturer’s defect and a valid receipt we will unconditionally extend a 50 percent discount on your next purchase of any shoe of your choice from the Westlands branch,” the shoe store said.