THE BIRTH OF A SHOE COMPANY AS TOLD BY KENNETH
COLE
Twenty years ago, I wanted to open a shoe company with limited money.
From experience I knew one had to get in quickly because so often new
companies run out of cash flow before they get the chance to conduct
business. I also knew it was easier to get credit from factories in
Europe who needed the business than from American banks that didn't.
So I lined up the factories, went to Europe, designed a collection
of shoes, and returned to the states to sell them.
At the time, a shoe company had two options. You could get a room
at the Hilton and become 1 of about 1100 shoe companies selling their
goods. This didn't provide the identity or image I felt necessary
for a new company, and it cost a lot more money than I had to spend.
The other way was to do what the big companies do and get a fancy
showroom in Midtown Manhattan not far from the Hilton. More identity,
much more money too.
I had an idea.
I called a friend in the trucking business and asked to borrow one
of his trucks to park in Midtown Manhattan. He said sure, but good
luck getting permission. I went to the Mayor's office, Koch at the
time, and asked how one gets permission to park a 40 foot trailer
truck in Midtown Manhattan. He said one doesn't. The only people
the city gives parking permits to are production companies shooting
full length motion pictures and utility companies like Con Ed or
AT&T. So that day I went to the stationery store and changed
our company letterhead from Kenneth Cole, Inc. to Kenneth Cole Productions,
Inc. and the next day I applied for a permit to shoot a full length
film entitled "The Birth of a Shoe Company."
With Kenneth Cole Productions painted on the side of the truck,
we parked at 1370 6th Avenue, across from the New York Hilton, the
day of shoe show. We opened for business with a fully furnished 40
ft trailer, a director (Sometimes there was film in the camera, sometimes
there wasn't), models as actresses, and two of New York's finest,
compliments of Mayor Koch, as our doormen. We sold 40 thousand pairs
of shoes in two and a half days (the entire available production)
and we were off and running.
To this day the company is still named Kenneth Cole Productions,
Inc. and serves as a reminder to the importance of resourcefulness
and innovative problem solving.
|