Photo-of-the-Week #201 Skechers Factory Store, Moreno Valley, California, March 2015

This week's photo of the week was taken just yesterday. As I was driving from Hawthorne, California to Palm Springs, California on Friday evening, I passed one of the largest warehouse structures I've ever seen. It was along CA-60 Between Long Beach and Palm Springs in an area (town) named Moreno Valley.

Now, when I say this warehouse was huge, I really mean HUGE. The recently constructed and opened facility housing the warehouse and distribution center for the second largest U.S. shoe company, Skechers. This structure encloses 1,820,000 square feet. Yes, I wrote it and your read it correctly, 1.82 million square feet. It's so long that it takes 30 seconds at 60 miles per hour to pass from one end to the other on the freeway. As a comparison, large, enclosed shopping malls range from 500,000 to 1,000,000 square feet.

The new structure consolidated six smaller warehouses, a truck fleet (to move merchandise from one warehouse to another) and downsized the personnel requirements to around 500 people. According to articles I read about the facility, shipments can be received, unloaded, moved to the appropriate location in the warehouse, stored, picked, moved to shipping and shipping all without being touched by human hands.

Once more, here is an example of the best and the worst of technological advances. On the "best" side of the equation, it eliminates human error, increases efficiency and, ultimately reduces operating expenses. On the "worst" side of the same equation, it eliminates what John Naisbett, author of the best selling book, MegaTrends, calls "high touch" or the human element in the work place.

At the eastern end of this humongous structure is the "Skechers Factory Store" shown in this week's photo. The store is huge, full of Skechers shoes of every description for men, women, children and a special clearance section. There is a team of employees available to assist customers. The store is open from 9 AM to 8 PM except Sunday when it's only open until 7 PM. There is plenty of parking for customers, too.

Yes! I went shopping and found a specific shoe I was after. Since they were having a "BOGO" (buy one, get one for half price) I walked out with two pairs of shoes that will, hopefully, last me for at least a couple years

If you've going to be out in this region of the country and need some new shoes, don't hesitate to check out this factory outlet store. I believe you'll find it worth your time.