Feet first: Store visits 100 homes to measure children for new shoes
LACEY Wallace (7) and her two-year-old sister Lucy show off their new shoes after Ballymena store Mckillens paid them a visit at home to ensure their feet were properly measured. The store has visited more than 100 families with sanitised measuring gauges in the two months since in-store fittings were banned. The girls’ mum Amanda described the service as ‘amazing’.
A BALLYMENA department store has pulled itself up by the bootstraps during lockdown by offering children in Co Antrim their first shoe fittings for free — at home.
Mckillens of Ballymena had approached Stormont officials about its concerns that properly measured shoes had not been deemed an essential health requirement — but in-store fittings remained banned.
But Johnnie Mckillen wasn’t beaten and said he’s visited more than 100 families over the past two months to measure children’s feet outside while wearing a mask and using a sanitised measuring gauge.
Amanda Wallace — mum of Lacey (7) and Lily (2) — said the visiting service was “amazing”.
“My kids are in Mckillens every four or five months to get their feet measured. They grow that quickly and I was wondering how would I get them done,” she said.
“You can buy in Tesco or Asda but I think footwear is one of the most important things you can fit for your child. Wearing ill-fitting shoes isn’t great for their development.
“I’ve been going to Mckillens since my eldest child got her first shoes. My kids like to pick their own and within a couple of hours they had new shoes.
“It was a pleasant and efficient service. You wouldn’t get the service in a supermarket and Mckillens didn’t charge for delivery. For a door-to-door service, it was amazing.”
Mr Mckillen said well-fitting footwear is vital for youngsters “because it affects their development and walking”.
“Small children grow every eight weeks on average and we’ve been in lockdown for longer than that. I’ve had a couple of customers I sorted out in January who said their children have already grown out of their shoes. Feet don’t stop growing in lockdown,” he said.
The service started after the family-run business approached the Department of Health to ask if children’s first shoes could be deemed an essential health requirement, but this was refused. “They listened but gave a generic response to say essential retail stores selling food are also allowed to sell shoes,” he said.
Offering click-and-collect wouldn’t solve the issue as children need to be measured to be fitted properly for shoes, he said. The father-of-two said first shoe measurements are also a “milestone” for parents. “You need to fit the feet properly because they can develop problems.
The Department of Health said: “From 8 March, a controlled ‘click and collect’ service for retail can operate for baby equipment, clothing, footwear and electrical goods. Retail bodies worked closely with the Executive to develop an approach that has allowed these particular businesses to operate contactless click and collect services in a safer, regulated manner.