Thursday, August 19, 2010
Converse is a shoe company which has been manufacturing shoes since the beginning of the 20th century. Converse is an American company, and it was started by Marquis M. Converse in his late 30's. He was previously a manager at a footwear firm, and it all started when he opened the Boston Rubber Shoe Company in 1908. This company provided winter rubber soled footwear for all categories of clients: women, men and children.
In 1910 they were producing almost 4,000 pairs daily, and it 1915 they started manufacturing a new type of product: shoes for tennis. In 1917 they introduced Converse All-Star basketball shoes. Chuck Taylor, a basketball player complained about sore feet, but the situation changed, and he started working for the company. He was a salesman and in the same time, company's ambassador. HE was promoting Converse shoes in the United States and his signature was also added to the All Star collection.
During the WWII Converse started manufacturing footwear, apparel, boots and many other products for pilots and troops. Converse promoted a distinctly American image with the Yearbook. In 1970's Converse bought the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers from Goodrich. With competitors' rise, Converse lost very much on the market, and the apparently monopoly they held started its decline since the 80's, when Puma and Adidas strongly appeared on the market. The continous loss of market share, and the poor business decisions taken by managers led to bankruptcy, and this happened in 2001. The factory in US was closed, but the products for the American Market were still manufactured in various countries like China, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania and Vietnam.
In 2003, July, this company was purchased by the rival company Nike for $305 million. Along time, a lot of special editions have been released, like The Ramones, or the Sailor Jerry, The Control (brown and green edition), 1Hund(15% of the profits support HIV/AIDS relief) and there were hundreds of artists from the whole world who designed various collections.
In 1910 they were producing almost 4,000 pairs daily, and it 1915 they started manufacturing a new type of product: shoes for tennis. In 1917 they introduced Converse All-Star basketball shoes. Chuck Taylor, a basketball player complained about sore feet, but the situation changed, and he started working for the company. He was a salesman and in the same time, company's ambassador. HE was promoting Converse shoes in the United States and his signature was also added to the All Star collection.
During the WWII Converse started manufacturing footwear, apparel, boots and many other products for pilots and troops. Converse promoted a distinctly American image with the Yearbook. In 1970's Converse bought the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers from Goodrich. With competitors' rise, Converse lost very much on the market, and the apparently monopoly they held started its decline since the 80's, when Puma and Adidas strongly appeared on the market. The continous loss of market share, and the poor business decisions taken by managers led to bankruptcy, and this happened in 2001. The factory in US was closed, but the products for the American Market were still manufactured in various countries like China, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania and Vietnam.
In 2003, July, this company was purchased by the rival company Nike for $305 million. Along time, a lot of special editions have been released, like The Ramones, or the Sailor Jerry, The Control (brown and green edition), 1Hund(15% of the profits support HIV/AIDS relief) and there were hundreds of artists from the whole world who designed various collections.
