Sometimes stories are too good not to repeat. “The Birth of a Shoe Company” as told by Kenneth Cole is one of them.
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.
If that doesn’t tell you all that you need to know about Kenneth Cole, then we’ll let you do your own research. Here’s the skinny on Kenneth Cole’s Fall internships. They’re unpaid and can be located in New York City or New Jersey. Interns get 50% discount off merchandise at Kenneth Cole Retail and Company Stores, meals included in their corporate café, reimbursement for public transportation to and from the corporate office, and eligibility for school credit if desired.
Kenneth Cole doesn’t list their internships on their own site, but on HotJobs instead (we think that’s kind of dumb). Here are all of Kenneth Cole’s internships listed on one page. In Secaucus, NJ they are offering an internship in their Finance/Internal Audit Department. The rest of the internships are located in New York City and can be found in the following departments Product Development/Footwear, Catalog & Internet, International Licensing, Graphic Design, International, Planning & Buying, Design Services, Public Relations/Marketing/Creative Service, and Marketing. To apply, you’ll have to go through HotJobs.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
What do you think of Kenneth Cole’s story?
Do I Know Anyone at Kenneth Cole? - Check LinkedIn | Check Facebook
Tags: apparel, auditing, buying, design, fashion, finance, Internships, licensing, marketing, New Jersey, New York, product development, public relations, unpaid
I tried to go to the link but it didnt go through. I wanted to kno if there were any Kenneth Cole Internships available in Atlana, GA?