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The story of Kenneth Cole in his own words:
Nineteen
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. |
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