Cannot return factory fault shoes

I bought a pair of shoes for my daughter during the festive season and did not at Carnival Mall realize the shoes are damaged. I travel a lot for work so going to the mall is not an activity that is possible for me. When I finally had a chance to go to Carnival mall to exchange the shoes, I was told that I could not exchange the shoes as it is policy (which I was not even aware of - to me if it is clear that the shoes have not been worn and that there is a factory fault, take the shoes back and at least allow me an exchange) The supervisor told me that they could not afford to have losses. I am now left with shoes that cannot be used only because I missed "policy" by a few days? C'mmon Edgars, this is not being customer centric. How do you put a useless policy ahead of your customers? The store also had no manager on floor - how is that even possible? I spoke to a supervisor who just kept on telling me about a useless policy that means nothing to me. I cannot donate my hard earned money to Edgars!