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Kenneth Cole
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. was born in 1982, when Kenneth Cole went broke. The designer had spent all his money making shoes in Europe, but when he came back to his native New York, he had no place to sell them-and no money to open a store. Enlisting the help of a friend with a giant truck, Cole nabbed permission to park it in midtown and sell shoes by applying for a film permit (hence the "Productions"); the fictitious film had the audacious title "The Birth of a Shoe Company." The stunt helped sell 40,000 shoes in two days, and created a company, a legend, and an empire. Kenneth Cole now encompasses three lines. The primary label, Kenneth Cole New York, has a price range of $60 to $795 and is a visual manual in contemporary urban style, with black jeans, crewneck sweaters, and classic lace-up loafers in deep colors. Kenneth Cole Reaction is more playful but still very urban, and ranges from $35 to $395. Unlisted Kenneth Cole is even cheaper, with products from apparel to shoes in the range of $25 to $80. The company went public in 1994, and is reportedly worth over $1 billion.
