High School Entrepreneurship Students Visit Shoe Palace Headquarters

The Oakwood High School Entrepreneurship & Business Management class recently visited the Shoe Palace headquarters in Morgan Hill, and they collectively wrote about this experience below.

“We recently received a tour of the headquarters of Shoe Palace, a large fulfillment center near Cochrane Road in Morgan Hill. The real-life example allowed us to learn about how a successful business runs, and we were able to make connections to all the business principles we’ve learned in our class so far. When you first walk in, you get hit by that new shoe smell until you get a chance to register your amazing surroundings. The TV on the wall was a huge welcome to our class since it was showing Oakwood School and even had one of the school's promotional videos playing in the background. Additionally, there were so many cool decorations, like a 1900s car, and some unique, rare shoes on display for all of the students to look at. Taking a picture with everyone felt very welcoming, as well as the manager taking our shoe sizes!

Walking around the warehouse, which stretched for miles, was fascinating as they informed us that everything was managed by intricate computer systems. Within the marketing and design team, we saw firsthand how the website and social media photos were created, edited, and published using creative techniques and industry-leading software. We then walked through the product development center, where we saw yet-to-be-released clothing and learned about branding and deals with other companies. The design was so unique and exciting to see! They answered all of our questions and took our advice on what is trendy now, affecting what they may produce in the future.

Next, we made our way up the stairs and entered a mock-up version of the store that was really interesting to witness. We got to see this model Shoe Palace store, where they can decide how to decorate their stores and train employees. After this, we sat down, and we got to meet several key people who were a part of the shoe palace team, and they talked to us about their roles and what they do for the company. The procurement and purchasing team talked to us about how hard they have to work to stay ahead of the current trends. The HR director talked about how she makes sure everyone is safe and in a happy environment. Subsequently, there were many others, as well, who shared their experiences and job descriptions with us students and answered our questions. We learned about the role of the IT manager and how his work, while not always acknowledged, is vital to keeping the business running.

The speakers also taught us life lessons and how to be resilient if things don't always work out the way you want them to. It was incredible to see how many of them who are in senior leadership roles started as sales associates at a Shoe Palace store (sometimes as teenagers!). We also walked by rooms with the various pairs of Jordans on shelves on each wall. We were given the experience of a lifetime, actively learning about and getting to be a part of what goes on behind the scenes of organizing such a large-scale shoe supplier company. Being able to experience a day in the life at the Shoe Palace headquarters let us see what they do in everyday life. Overall, the experience helped us make real-world connections with our course content and allowed us to practice the key skills we are building through our Entrepreneurship & Business Management class, which many of us are now interested in studying at the university level.”

Entrepreneurship Class Shoe Palace Visit Photo Album