ABOUT US

About Shoe Clinic

Are you wearing the right shoes? Most people aren't. Not the wrong size, the wrong shoes. Built for a different foot, a different gait, a different way of moving. And the cost shows up later: the niggle that won't go away, the run that hurts more than it should, the pair that felt fine in the shop and wrong by week two. That one idea is the reason Shoe Clinic exists, whether you're chasing a marathon PB or buying your first proper pair.

Where it started

In 1998, Neville McAlister and Hamish French opened the first Shoe Clinic on a simple belief: people deserve footwear that's genuinely right for them, fitted by someone who knows what they're doing. They came at it from two sides. Neville brought years of retail experience from Palmerston North, alongside a career as a respected professional rugby referee from 1986 to 2002, officiating at the top level of the game across New Zealand and internationally. Hamish came from the wholesale side of the sports industry, having worked with global brands including Reebok and Nike. Between them they'd seen enough feet in the wrong shoes to know there was a better way to do this. So they built it.

Fitting, not just selling

From day one, Shoe Clinic did the opposite of most shoe shops. Instead of pointing you at a wall and leaving you to guess, the focus was on professionally fitting footwear to your individual running or walking gait. It's the difference between buying a shoe and being matched to one, and it quickly made Shoe Clinic the trusted name in performance footwear fitting across New Zealand. Walk into any Shoe Clinic and you'll meet someone who genuinely wants to get this right for you. Someone who'll watch how you move, ask what you're training for, and talk you through the options without ever rushing you toward the till. Whether you've run a hundred races or you're nervously buying your first proper pair, you'll leave knowing more than you did walking in. That commitment to getting it right hasn't stood still. Over the years Shoe Clinic has continued to invest in the technology that makes a fitting genuinely accurate: treadmill gait analysis, Footscan pressure-plate technology, and Volumental 3D foot scanning. In practice, that means the team can read how you actually move, the shape of your foot, and where the pressure falls, so you walk out in shoes suited to your body and your activity, not just your shoe size.

Buy with complete confidence

Shoe Clinic was also first in the industry to back its fittings with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee on in-store purchases. If a pair doesn't feel right, for any reason, you can come back to exchange them or get a refund. No fine print, no fuss, just the confidence that comes from a business that trusts its own fitting process enough to stand behind it.

Close to home, wherever you are

In 2001, Neville and Hamish began franchising the business, and Shoe Clinic grew nationwide. Today there are 17 stores across New Zealand, plus a full online store, so whether you want expert hands-on fitting in person or to shop from home, the same expertise is within reach. On the shelves you'll find many of the world's leading footwear brands: Adidas, ASICS, Brooks, Mizuno, New Balance, ON Running, HOKA, Birkenstock, Merrell, LOWA, Keen, Rockport, OOFOS, and Archies, chosen because they perform, not because they're on trend.

Trusted, and proud of it

Trust isn't something you claim; it's something you earn over years. Shoe Clinic was the first business in New Zealand to reach 10 years of "Consumer Trusted" accreditation from Consumer NZ, a reflection of the same care and professionalism that's been there since store number one. That care extends well beyond the shop floor. Shoe Clinic is a proud, long-standing supporter of KidsCan, the Life Flight Trust, and the Cancer Society, because a business rooted in its communities should give back to them.

The people behind it

Shoe Clinic has always been shaped by people who genuinely live this stuff. Both founders are active to the core. Hamish is a keen runner who's completed two marathons and several half marathons, and a passionate cricketer who has represented New Zealand in Over 55s cricket. He's happily married to Ngan, and dad to Sam and Wills. Neville and his partner of 30 years, Rochelle, have three children: Olivia, Riley, and Zane, who now works in the Shoe Clinic business, carrying the next generation into the story. That same spirit runs through Shoe Clinic's long relationships with podiatrists and healthcare professionals around the country, partnerships built on a shared belief that helping people move comfortably and confidently is worth doing properly.

More than 25 years on

The shoes have changed. The technology has changed. What hasn't is the care that goes into every fitting. Shoe Clinic is still 100% New Zealand owned, still the trusted name in getting Kiwis into the right footwear, one person at a time, whether that's in one of our 17 stores or online, wherever you are.