With 13 retailers under the skechers go walk mens microscope, it was footwear specialists that stood out again this season – among them Dune and Skechers – for their strong product, value for money and good customer service. The big high street retailers such as Primark and New Look fell short of our expectations with shoddy presentation and a lack of customer service. And across the board there was also a noticeable lack of size availability, particularly across women’s ranges. Key trends were prevalent across skechers go walk women stores: trainers – particularly the chunky kind – continue to dominate. Neon colours proved especially popular, notably pink, green and yellow, and there were plenty of styles to choose from throughout the day. Other trends included chunky flat lace-up boots – for men and women – while punk detailing such as studs, zips and lace featured heavily in women’s footwear collections. Warm autumnal hues, from burgundy to khaki, snake print and tan, sat alongside bright whites. Men’s shoe styles were typically classic and skechers go walk boots Bullring customers were spoilt for choice in brogues, loafers, trainers and Chelsea boots. Traditional blacks, browns and navy dominated, but I was pleased to see a nice – if limited – selection of statement designs, such as velvet options in Dune, neon print in Russell & Bromley and floral brocade in Topman. Dune’s open-fronted shop in the Bullring has no window, but the central entrance display was eye-catching enough to lure shoppers in and featured a nice mix of women’s shoes, from glittery heels to pumps and autumnal boots, which were well lit, neat and perfectly presented. The shop was well organised with women’s skechers bobs sale footwear on the left, men’s on the right, new styles at the front and Sale items at the back. There were no obtrusive promotional displays and the store was meticulously clean, which made for a very nice shopping environment. The shop assistant was only too happy help and it was the best service I received all day – albeit that I was one of only two customers at the time. The shoes came out quickly and, even though they did not have my size, I was offered two alternatives. I was given a pop sock for the only time the whole day. The assistant asked how the shoes fitted, suggested other styles, and informed me about the material and sizing specifications.