Lewre sucks

In UK, return policies are taken for granted as a statutary right of the customers, but not so Malaysia. It's usually stated in the receipt that "Goods sold are not returnable/exchangable/refundable", which absolutely is terrible. I recall an incident where I bought a pair of shoes and the strap broke after ONE day, and had hell trying to get a refund. In the end I brought the case up to the Tribunal Tuntutan Pengguna and won. Lewre had to give me my money back, which wasn't all that much, after all the other expenses concurred in trying to bring them up in the Tribunal, calls to CAP and letters to The Star, but it sure was damn satisfying. I just found an old entry of the incident:

* * *
9 June 2004

Things I have to do:

1. Prepare for the court proceedings against Lewre (I went to the Tribunal Tuntutan Pengguna, weehey!)

2. Prepare letter to CAP, SIRIM, Star and *possibly* Rafidah Aziz.

Why the animousity against Lewre? Well, simply because their shoes really suck, for false advertising (don't believe ANYTHING they say on the Lewre/Roondy website, it's all LIES!) and for crimes against comsumerism.

I bought a pair of Lewre shoes for RM279 (and it's not even pretty, mind you) and the straps broke after only ONE day! Went to the shop to repair it, they didn't even bother to call after that, I had to call them and then they told me that the shoes cannot be repaired and that i was supposed to choose another pair (plus i don't get a refund if the shoes cost less, and have to pay if the shoes cost more - WTF?!) I went to their shop and the shoes they sold were, in my personal opinion, hideous, aunty shoes that no self respecting woman would buy! So I asked for a refund. They refused, saying that the receipt clearly stated that goods sold are not returnable/exchangable/refundable. Excuse me, they offered me an exchange although it was CLEARLY stated there that "goods sold are not returnable/exchangable/refundable". After a lot of emails to ANDY VOON (Brand Manager, Roondy), they became nasty. So I decided to bring the case up to the Tribunal.

I had a talk to a few friends about the shoes as well, they've all bought Lewre shoes before, well, just because they wanted something extravagant to splurge on, and they all agreed that Lewre shoes isn't quality shoes. Or as Liz puts it, "Their shoes bite, it's not the least comfy, and they don't last at all!" (hers lasted for about 2 months before their heels became loose). Anyway, they've all agreed that Lewre is a one off thing... cheaters to the max. And we hope Lewre goes bankrupt. But it'll be better if they improve though. I mean, I have to give them credit for having come this far.

Mind you, Lewre's supposedly an international brand. Memalukan negara only with this kind of feedback. Utterly shameful. They shouldn't be allowed to export their shoes. Puh-leese... Vincci deserves better... they offer comfort, quality and style... my Vincci shoes actually lasted for 4 years! And I can still wear them, although they're a bit worn out from daily use, rain and shine... Kudos to Vincci.

Plus it worries me that Lewre supposedly has SIRIM or ISO recognition, but doesn't adhere to safety standards. Excuse me, if the straps snapped while I was going down the stairs, I could have fell down and hurt myself. Same with the heels... Imagine the heels on Liz's pair of Lewre shoes breaking while she was crossing the road and she slips and fall, she might just get run over by a car! Makes me wonder how they get their SIRIM anyway, as role is to act as: (http://www.sirim.my/)

· A champion of quality
· The national technology development corporation
· Vehicle for technology transfer
· A provider of institutional and technical infrastructure for the Government

If people from SIRIM are reading this, please give me your views. How come Lewre that produce such low quality shoes can have SIRIM certification? I just don't understand. But I do understand 'duit kopi'... not that i'm suggesting anything. No prove, right?

"The launch of its new building, Wisma Roondy, and in-house labels for the local and export market in Oct 1997 as witnessed By Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, The Minister of International Trade and Industry, proves Roondy's ability to portray its strength and credibility to emerge as a respectable label with Malaysia identity and proper branding strategies to compete internationally alongside other globally known labels." (http://www.lewre.com.my/ - about us)

Strength and credibility? Sorry, Lewre, I think you've lost a lot of credibility among many many many of the Malaysian youth. You're not a respectable label and we refuse to recognise you as our 'ambassador' for our Malaysian identity. In fact, we'd be ashamed to. We'll stick to Jimmy Choo. Anytime, anyday. I have no respect for Lewre, not for their whatever managers, for their brand, or their shoes.

As for "competing internationally alongside other globally known labels", give me a break. First of all, can you compete with even Jukebox or not? Jukebox shoes may be cheap, but they're better than Lewre's shoes anytime! And you're not even talking about Marie Claire or Vincci yet... how do you expect to compete with Hushpuppies, or Manolo Blahnik, or Marc Jacobs?! Please, come out of that reverie of yours.

It irks me that the Lewre people totally ignored me after knowing that I'm only 21 years old. Excuse me, I might be 21, but I'm a consumer too. I bought a pair of your shoes, that were huge mistakes, by the way. But that doesn't mean that you can treat me with disrespect. That doesn't mean that you can ignore my requests and questions.

People like you are don't see things in the long run, do you? Disrespect the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow will not have respect for you. We are the future mainstream consumers, we'll be the ones who'll be buying all the office shoes and whatever not. But you forget. Big mistake. The salesgirl wasn't nice when I went to pick replacement shoes as well, she was rude and made a show of annoyance for the extra work she had to do. Well, if the people on top are already so bad, could I have expected the ones at the bottom to be any better? Damn, I don't like Roondy's employees. They're not courteous. Service with a smile? *cynical laugh* How untrue when it comes to Lewre/Roondy.

What happened to the consumer's right to redress? According to http://www.kpdnhq.gov.my/kpdn/hep/BPD/3_2002/3_2002_4.htm, we have the right to "receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services". Doens't the case itself stink of "shoddy goods" and not to mention "unsatisfactory services"? A shoe that needs repair just one day after being purchased and then cannot be repaired so obviously fits into the "shoddy goods" category. And brand managers or salegirls who ignore you because you're young, well, I'd call it "unsatisfactory services".

Goodness, I can go on and on ranting and griping about Lewre / Roondy. But it's late and I'm tired.

But if who are thinking about buying a pair of Lewre shoes or thinking of endorsing Lewre anywhere in the world, well, you've been warned. It's sad to say, but Lewre is dissappointing. I was hoping that they would follow Jimmy Choo's footsteps and make Malaysia proud, but they seem to be doing the opposite now. But I do hope they'd prove me wrong one day though. I hope that one that I'd proudly say that Lewre IS a Malaysian brand and be proud to say it. But until then, I think that Lewre sucks and I was suckered into buying their 'shoody goods'.
Some of the Lewre shoes in pictures:

Notice the slingbacks with the caption "The happy bride will glow thanks to the pearls on these slingbacks".

I doubt if she would be a glowy, happy bride if she was walking down the aisle and the straps of the slingbacks (that actually supports her legs) snaps and she falls. Which was actually what happened to me, except that it was during a presentation. Urgh! Yeaps, the straps of my brand new Lewre slingbacks snapped on me one day after I bought it. Absurd? Better believe it. The quality control is THAT BAD!

Anyway, more articles and links.

Roondy to promote high-end shoes through branding by Cheah Chor Sooi

It says there that "The company will emphasize becoming a reliable original equipment manufacturer (OEM) by mastering the latest product design, conforming to high product quality " and say that they plan to "achieve constant improvement in quality".

I think they've achieved the opposite. They're not improving but depreciating in quality. Liz bought hers last year, they lasted 2 months, I bought mine in February, they lasted for LESS THAN ONE DAY! So maybe these are isolated cases, but still, to think that I actually know another disgruntled customer... there must be plenty more dissatisfied customers out there. And Karcy wasn't too happy about her pair of Lewre shoes as well. Haha.

Plus he name-dropped Dato' Jimmy Choo, "I also work closely with Datuk Jimmy Choo's couture designing team whenever I am in London to share both their fashion trends and product innovation," he (Mr. Lew) said. Yeesh, I would expect something better, more stylish and of better quality since he "works closely" with Dato' Jimmy Choo who probably has an impeachable reputation for style and quality, since Princess Di was a loyal customer of his.
It also says that "the company spends more than RM500,000 a year on human resource development and information technology to strengthen the competency of its product development, procurement and quality control teams," or so managing director Lew Fong Vo said.

If they had such a great quality control team, the shoes that I bought wouldn't have been on the display rack in the first place. Last I heard, the whole batch of shoes were being recalled. But I'm not too sure about it, so I cannot really say. But I can confidently say that their more than RM500,000 a year on human resource development seems to be going to waste as their service is so bad that I wouldn't want to talk to their brand managers or whatever managers again or even buy any Lewre shoes ever again. And I'm not alone in this - a lot of people wouldn't buy Lewre shoes after buying it once as well.

Another interesting read, not related to Lewre, but more to consumerism is this enlightening commentary from Era Consumer Malaysia.