When and by whom was Converse, the symbol of street style, founded?
Converse is a brand created in the early twentieth century. It was founded in 1908, in the late thirties, by a young man named Marquis Converse, who had previously founded companies on footwear.
Converse Shoe Company started production as a rubber shoe company. Later, the company produced a very popular model of tennis shoes. In 1917, All-Star production started, and Chuck Taylor's signature was added to the "Chuck Taylor" All Star basketball shoes, gaining worldwide fame.
Converse is a brand created in the early twentieth century. It is of American origin. It is currently a sub-unit of Nike. It was founded in 1908, in the late thirties, by a young man named Marquis Converse, who had previously founded companies on footwear. Marquis Converse was 47 years old when this company was founded.
The company was originally a rubber shoe manufacturer. It began to produce rubber shoes primarily for children, men and women. Initially, the brand did not produce any sports shoes. Instead of sports shoes, he preferred to produce ideal winter and very good quality rubber-soled shoes for everyone. The quality of these rubber-soled shoes was spreading among the people day by day. The company, which started to produce casual shoes in 1910, did not produce sports shoes until 1915. By 1915, Converse Rubber Shoe Company had officially produced and offered its first sports shoes. These sneakers were used for tennis.
The company passed a turning point in 1917. Basketball shoes production started with the Converse All-Star brand. This breakthrough went down in history as a major breakthrough. Production conditions, comfort and usefulness of the products made Converse an indispensable brand.
In 1923, a basketball player named Charles H “Chuck” Taylor went to the company with a complaint of foot pain. The company offered him a collaboration. Charles H “Chuck” Taylor started working for the company as a salesman. He introduced the shoes to large audiences in the United States, and in 1932 Taylor's signature was added to the All-Star patch on classic, high-heeled sneakers. Thus, the legendary All Star Chuck Taylor was born. Chuck Taylor continued this work until shortly before his death in 1969.
In 1921, another innovation was signed with Chuck Taylor. Converse also produced custom shoes for the New York Renaissance (“Rens”), the first all-African professional basketball team. In 1962, Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points while wearing "Chucks" in an NBA game in Pennsylvania on March 2 when they defeated the New York Knicks 169-147.
One of the things known about Converse is that when the USA entered World War II in 1941, the company accelerated the production of boots, boots, rubber shoes, jackets and special clothing.
In the 1970s, like strong competitors such as Adidas, Nike, Reebok with good sales, Converse lost some of its market share. But it didn't take long for Converse to regain its strength. The company changed hands in those years.
By the 1990s, the company could not recover from the steady decline in sales and quickly went into substantial debt on an annual basis. In 2001, significant loss of market share and several unsound business decisions forced Converse to file for bankruptcy in January. In April 2001, Converse was acquired by Marsden Carson and Bill Simon of Footwear Azquisitions. The new owners soon struck deals with some designers and athletes to help change the fate of America's iconic sneaker company.
Nike Bought Converse!
In July 2003, Nike Inc acquired Converse for approximately $309 million. Thus, Nike made a good move to prevent an icon from disappearing. Shortly after, in 2005, Nike revived the 1980s sneaker style and helped make it an icon again among sneaker lovers. Nike eventually expanded the company's operation to include other brands.
Chuck Taylor II
In July 2015, Converse released a reimagined and new Chuck Taylor II edition of the old popular Chuck Taylor All-Star. A new collection has been released, which still takes care to preserve the iconic Converse style it has preserved for so many years with the original lightweight insole, and in which Nike technology is seamlessly integrated.
Converse still has a significant share in today's market.