I think there is a misconception here from one bad pair of shoes. I have had one pair of Sketchers wear out early and took them back and they were replaced for free.

Vans were great when the Van Dorens owned the company, but they sold out in the 80s, and were sold again in the early 2000s, and now are part of the VF company.

Airwalk is a payless/collective brands subsidiary. Neither have any further claim to being top end or higher quality, not sure Airwalk ever did.