Converse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Converse | |
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| Type | Subsidiary of Nike |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1908 |
| Headquarters | Malden, Massachusetts |
| Key people | Marquis M. Converse, Founder |
| Industry | sporting goods |
| Products | Athletic shoes, apparel |
| Website | www.converse.com |
Converse, (pronounced kŏn'vûrs), is an American shoe company which has been making shoes since the early 20th century. Currently, Converse also produces a wide range of occupational safety shoes that resemble their regular athletic shoes.
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[edit] History
[edit] 1908–1941: The Early Days and Chuck Taylor
In his late 30's, Marquis M. Converse, who was previously a respected manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company (also known as the Boston Rubber Shoe Company) in Malden, Massachusetts in 1908. The company was a rubber shoe manufacturer, providing winterized rubber soled footwear for men, women, and children. By 1910, Converse was producing 4,000 shoes daily, but it wasn't until 1915 that the company began manufacturing athletic shoes for tennis. The company's main turning point came in 1917 when the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. This was a real innovation at the time, considering the sport was only 25 years old. Then in 1921, a basketball player named Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. Converse gave him a job. He worked as a salesman and ambassador, promoting the shoes around the United States, and in 1923 after publishing a retrospective on the first 60 years of basketball and teaching his first basketball clinic at North Carolina State University, his signature was added to the All Star patch. He tirelessly continued this work until shortly before his death in 1969. Converse also customized shoes for the New York Renaissance (the "Rens"), basketball's first all African American pro basketball team.
[edit] 1941–Present: War, Bankruptcy, and New Management
When America entered World War II in 1941, Converse shifted production to manufacturing footwear, apparel, boots, parkas, rubber protective suits, and ponchos for pilots and troops. Widely popular during the 1950s and 1960s, Converse lost much of its apparent near-monopoly from the 1970s onward, with the surge of new competitors such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok who introduced radical new designs to the market. Converse found themselves no longer the official shoe of the National Basketball Association, a title they had enjoyed for many, many years. This loss of market share, combined with poor business decisions forced Converse to file for bankruptcy on January 22, 2001. When the company subsequently changed hands that year, the last factory in the United States was closed. Thereafter, manufacturing for the American market was no longer performed in the United States, but instead in a number of Asian countries, including China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
On July 9, 2003, the company accepted a $305 million purchase offer from rival Nike.
[edit] Style
[edit] From Rubber to an "All-Star"
The Converse Shoe Company started as a rubber shoe company. The company then made a tennis shoe which grew in popularity. In 1917 the All-Star came into production, and after Chuck Taylor signed on they were referred to as the "Chuck Taylor" All Star basketball shoe. In 1966 Converse started adding color choices to the basic red and white Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe.
[edit] Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe
- For more details on this topic, see Chuck Taylor All Star.
Also referred to as "Cons", "Connies", "Chuckers", "Chucks", "Converse", "Chuckie T's", or "Chucker Boots" for the higher styles, for decades the Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe only came in black or white. Under pressure from basketball teams it was decided in 1966 to manufacture other colors. Different materials started to appear also, such as leather, suede and vinyl, and even hemp, rather than just canvas. A low-top or "Oxford" and high-top versions, and later knee-high versions were produced. After Converse was bought by Nike and operations were moved from the United States to overseas, the design has had a few alterations. The fabric is no longer 2-ply cotton canvas but 1-ply "textile" and many wearers have noticed different patterns of wear. Also it is popular fashion to sometimes lace the converse in a variety of ways.
[edit] The Weapon
In 1986, Converse released "The Weapon" basketball shoe. Also manufactured in many color schemes to match the team colors of basketball teams, it has been available in both high-top and low cut varieties. The unique aspect of this shoe is the leather construction throughout, including the inside heel which is also heavily padded for comfort.
[edit] Endorsements
- In the NBA, Converse currently has Maurice Evans, Jason Williams, Orien Greene, Udonis Haslem, Andre Miller, Kyle Korver, Mike Sweetney, Jameer Nelson, Kirk Hinrich, and Dwyane Wade as endorsers, and Steve Nash and Sam Cassell have sported Converse canvas off-court. Among former endorsers are Dennis Rodman, Rodney Rogers, Latrell Sprewell, Larry "Grandmama" Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Bernard King, Kevin McHale, Mark Aguirre, Isiah Thomas, Bobby Phills, Jalen Rose, Jason Terry, Ron Artest, and Ben Wallace, to say nothing about the virtual monopoly Converse had on the market before the 1970s.
- In the early 1980s, Converse had an ad campaign for the Chuck Taylors, featuring Larry Bird, Julius Erving, and Magic Johnson, who commented "They're everywhere!" on the commercials.
- While clearly not an endorsement, Michael Jordan wore Converse during his first year along with the University of North Carolina basketball team and again during the 1984 Olympic Games.
