Gemmell’s Footwear

Gemmell’s will be the only place I take my shoes from now on! Really friendly staff, handy central location at the top of Symonds Street and they do the most amazing job! I took an almost impossible pair of boots to be repaired last weekend and I was super excited with how they turned out — they look like brand new boots! I asked if they could be picked up a couple of days earlier than they were due and they made a special effort to get them finished and even text me to confirm. Great customer service. Dropped a second pair of boots in this week too! Definitely recommend.

I have to say I’m pretty disappointed with Gemmel’s, despite its good reputation. The attention to detail wasn’t there when I got my boots back from being re-​soled. The inner sole had been completely ripped out so they could stitch in the panel underneath, then it was just plonked back in, not glued down or anything so now it floats around and crumples. I’ll have to buy a new inner sole. Surely this would have taken just a minute to glue down or put a new one in. When you pay $ 100, which appears to be expensive compared to the other reviewers, you expect a level of care and attention to detail.

When you pay good money for shoes you want to make sure you look after them so you get the mileage out of them. Especially with footwear that has leather soles, you need to take them to Gemmells and have a topee applied. This is sort of like the sticky patches that some chain shoe stores sell for about $ 15 but instead a topee covers the entire sole of the shoes. It will make your shoes not only last the distance but make them a lot safer for you to walk in as they have good grip. This costs around $ 35 and considering the extra life you will get out of your shoes it is well worth it. I have had boots and heels recapped here because I do not trust those places in the malls to do it. If you have shoes that you think may be past it but you don’t want to throw them out, Gemmells might be able to save them for you, resole perhaps, heel caps, stains on leather and they do bag repairs. Plus you can buy all you leather care products here too to keep your shoes and bags in good nick.

I want to give Gemmell’s a 3.5. I’ve only taken my shoes to be done by two different places, and Gemmell’s is my preferred of the two. It’s located on that dingy strip of Symonds Street, kind of down from Bian sushi and Gina’s. To get my boots resoled and fixed up was about $ 75. I’m not sure if this is a lot or not, but they did a good job so I’m happy with it. Gemmell’s is a good option because you know they’re not going to screw up and they’re going to have the shoes done by the time they say they will.
Reliable, friendly service. That’s all you need, right?

Gemmells on Symonds Street incorporates two businesses, one a shoe repair, and one a bag repair service. I’ve dropped boots for re-​soling into the shoe repair, and whilst they did a decent job, I did feel like the price of it was a little expensive ($ 80) and I wasn’t offered many other options. I have also had two leather bags repaired here, and this was more successful. I was worried that one of the bags was unrepairable, but they came up with a good solution to make it last another thirty years, thank goodness. They are a very popular place, because they are reliable, which sometimes means that you might have to wait a few days for your repairs to be complete.