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Kenneth Cole
Briefcases & Computer Case Outlet
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As Told By
Kenneth Cole:
Eighteen
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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