Converse

Converse is an American shoe company that designs, distributes, and licenses sneakers, skating shoes, lifestyle brand footwear, apparel, and accessories. Founded in 1908, it has been a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003.

Converse is an American footwear brand known for its canvas and rubber shoes, particularly the Chuck Taylor All Star. Founded in 1908, Converse has undergone a series of ownership changes over the years as well as periods of financial hardship, including two bankruptcy filings. Converse has been owned by Nike since 2003. In 2015, Converse was reported to sell 100 million pairs of Chuck Taylor All Stars annually.

The original 1917 Converse All Star shoe.

Converse was originally founded as Converse Rubber Shoe Company in 1908 by Marquis Mills Converse in Malden, Massachusetts. As the company name suggests, Converse shoes were primarily constructed using rubber. The company gained traction in 1917 with the introduction of the Converse All Star, a basketball shoe made of canvas and rubber. The All Star was the first mass produced basketball shoe in North America. In 1921, American basketball player Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor joined Converse's sales team after discovering the All Star shoe. He brought new shoe designs and marketing ideas to the company. Taylor also worked to promote the sport of basketball nationwide by holding basketball clinics in schools, teaching basketball to kids, and sharing Converse shoes and yearbooks. In 1929 Converse declared bankruptcy due to company mismanagement and a bad investment in rubber tires. Founder Marquis Mills Converse died of a heart attack in 1931. Sometime after his death, the company was sold to the Stone family.

During World War II, Converse shifted its manufacturing to make footwear for the military. It was one of the few producers of athletic shoes and for over a half century the company dominated the American athletic shoe market. From the 1970s, the company lost its dominant position as competitors presented their own styles.

A modern-day white hi-top Chuck Taylor All Star shoe.

In 1932 Converse recognized Taylor for his contributions to the company by adding his name to the All Star's ankle patch detail, thus creating the Chuck Taylor All Star. By that point, the shoe was widely worn by basketball players in America. In 1936 Taylor designed the Converse white hi-top model with patriotic red and blue accents for the US Olympic basketball team. The shoes were also worn by American World War II soldiers during exercise and training. They eventually became the official sneaker of the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, Converse shifted away from shoe production and began producing protective footwear, boots, parkas, and various equipment to support American war efforts.

Today the company's portfolio include products under the Converse, Cons, Chuck Taylor All-Star ("Chucks"), Jack Purcell, One Star, and Star Chevron trademarks. Converse frequently collaborates on special edition product releases with other brands such as John Varvatos. Converse shoes are distinguished by a number of features, including the company's star insignia, the All Star's rubber sole, smooth rounded toe, and wrap-around strip.

After the war, Converse introduced the All Star shoe in a black and white colorway. In 1957 Converse released the Oxford, a low-top version of the All Star. The Oxford was popular with non-basketball players and was tailored as a shoe of leisure rather than one of sport. At this point in time, Converse was dominating the athletic footwear industry and had been for some time. Throughout the 1960s, Converse held about 90 percent of the American sneaker market. This came to an end in the 1970s after companies like Nike gained a more competitive edge by developing new footwear technologies, meeting the new demands of the athletic market which called for futuristic, performance-enhancing designs. In 1971, Converse was acquired by the Eltra Corporation.

As of 2019, Converse sold products through 109 company-owned retail stores in the United States and 63 stores in international markets.

A black-and-white Converse All Star Oxford shoe.

Instead of competing with the evolving athletic shoe market, Converse began to market the All Star as a fashionable lifestyle shoe. Many new colorways, prints, and patterns were created, and the shoe was soon adopted by the punk rock music scene. Its popularity expanded to other subcultures and music scenes throughout the 1980s and beyond, establishing the All Star as a new symbol for alternative culture rather than basketball. On January 1, 1982, Converse was purchased from Allied Corporation in a leveraged buyout by thirty-six members of management and outside investors. Eltra Corporation, Converse's previous owner, had been acquired by Allied in 1979. The company exchanged hands again in August 1986 when it was sold to Interco Inc. for $146 million. In November 1994, Interco spun off Converse to shareholders.

On January 22, 2001 Converse filed for bankruptcy protection. The company planned a business restructuring that involved closing its North American plants and moving all production overseas. Converse agreed to further reduce its debt by selling its North Reading headquarters building. In addition, Converse had signed a deal with Global Brand Marketing Inc. to make the company a licensee of Converse footwear, thus increasing Converse's royalty income. In late March 2001, Converse closed its US plants and announced its sell-off of the company's rights to make and distribute Converse footwear in the US. In April 2001, Converse was purchased by Footwear Acquisition Inc. for $117.5 million. This covered the company's debts and it was saved from bankruptcy. In December 2002 Converse filed to raise an $86 million initial public offering (IPO). On March 31, 2003, Converse announced it would delay its IPO amidst the start of the Iraq War.

On July 9, 2003 Nike announced its intention to purchase Converse for $305 million. The acquisition was reported complete in September 2003. In August 2004, Converse launched a campaign to promote Chuck Taylor All Stars. Nike refrained from making major changes to the Converse brand but was still able to revive shoe sales over the years and make the company financially successful again. In January 2013, Converse announced the construction of a new headquarters location in Boston. The move took place in May 2015.

In October 2014, Converse filed lawsuits against thirty-one companies for trademark infringement. Converse stated the companies it filed suit against, which included Walmart, Fila, and Ed Hardy, were selling knockoff versions of Chuck Taylor shoes. Converse claimed that the All Star's trademarks included the stripes around the shoe, the rubber toe bumper, and the toe cap. The three listed trademarks were deemed valid by an International Trade Commission judge the following month in November. In response to the series of lawsuits Converse filed, New Balance filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Converse in December 2014, alleging that Chuck Taylor All Stars bore a great resemblance to New Balance’s PF Flyers. New Balance was not one of the thirty-one companies sued by Converse, but had decided to take a preemptive strike to prevent a later lawsuit. New Balance's lawsuit also requested the cancelation of Converse's trademark for its Chuck Taylor shoes. The majority of the thirty-one companies sued by Converse settled out of court within a few months, but a few continued to fight the lawsuits along with New Balance.

An All Star Modern shoe.

In July 2015 Converse introduced the All Star II. The new version of the shoe utilized Lunarlon cushioning technology. Most available pairs sold out within twenty-four hours of launch. While the All Star II was popular at first, its high price––$20 more than the classic All Stars––made long-term sales unsustainable, and the shoe's release was ultimately considered a flop after sales failed to meet expected demand. The All Star Modern was released in June 2016. Unlike the All Star II, the Modern distinguished itself as a new shoe rather than a reinvention of a Converse classic.

In June 2016, after a full review by the International Trade Commission, the November 2014 decision regarding Converse's trademarks was overturned, with the ITC claiming that only Converse's diamond-patterned outsole was trademarked. However, this ruling was later reversed again in October 2018 after an appeals court claimed the ITC had "erred in applying the wrong standard in aspects of both its invalidity and infringement determination." In November 2020, the ITC ruled that while some elements of Converse’s orignally claimed trademarks were protectable, the brands that were sued by Converse had still not infringed upon them. In January 2021, Converse filed another series of lawsuits regarding trademark infringement of its shoes, this time against 589 websites and 676 social media accounts.