Challenge
After seeing the Core Zero Low Tops on Shoe Zero's site, Erica reached out. The brief was specific. Pairs in Foxen's brand, individually sized, shipped direct, all in hand before the big event. The window from approval to first doorstep was just over a month. "I'm responsible for our company's leadership swag," Erica says as she set the bar herself.
Every leader on the kickoff call would be in their own home office. Erica had a month to put 26 custom-branded shoes on different doorsteps across the country. Individual sizing. Same brand finish across the team. All in hand before the call started. Foxen's leadership team is distributed enough that there's no shared in-person moment to anchor a swag rollout. Every gift has to find its recipient on its own.
"I'm always looking for new ideas, something unique to give out. Not the same t-shirt and mug every time." Erica White, Executive Operations Manager at Foxen, was explaining why generic swag was off the table for the company's 2026 leadership kickoff. Foxen runs an annual theme to align the company. For 2026, the theme was Momentum. The kickoff was a day-long virtual meeting set for early February.
Solution
Every pair went out the door, each box landing at a different address, all branded and sized to spec. Erica didn't have to coordinate from her side. By the time the kickoff started, every leader had their pair in hand. The recipient's name on the box did the work that a fulfillment specialist would have done at most companies.
"We let them know we wanted just an everyday shoe with our company name on it," Erica adds. "They absolutely nailed it." The design moved through approval and 3D mockup with Erica running point on Foxen's brand. Logo placement and brand colors were dialed in before production.
"The whole process was simple and easy," Erica says. "From the moment I was connected with our contact at Shoe Zero, who is amazing, they sent over the design ideas and we got things ordered." Foxen's order was Core Zero Low Tops in the company's brand colors. Each pair was sized to its leader, packaged and labeled by recipient name, and shipped direct to their home address.
Results
The kickoff opened, on theme
The leadership came to the virtual call with their Core Zero Low Tops. After the call ended, Erica recorded a personal video review on her phone, unprompted. She sent it to Shoe Zero the same week. "We absolutely love them," she says. The leadership team has been wearing them around the office in the weeks since.
The remake came without an invoice
When one of the pairs arrived in the wrong size, Shoe Zero remade it free of charge and shipped the replacement direct to the leader's home. The remake came without an invoice. "You're the best," Erica wrote back. No back-and-forth about cause or cost. Just a fix. Erica didn't have to negotiate or escalate. The replacement landed at the leader's door before the kickoff started.
"We already have other teams wanting to place an order"
After the leadership rollout, Foxen's sales team asked Erica about a similar custom employee shoes rollout for their own group. Erica's video review ended with the line above, recorded the same week the boxes arrived, before any internal pitch from Shoe Zero. The shoes carried the brand internally far enough that the next request came from departments outside the original 26. The relationship outlasted the seasonal moment that started it.
"They absolutely nailed it. We love them. The leadership team has been rocking them around the office, and we already have other teams wanting to place an order."
Erica White, Executive Operations Manager, Foxen
