converse

                        converse

1908–1941: Early days and Chuck Taylor

In his late 30s, Marquis Mill Converse, who was previously a respected manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company (completely unrelated to the Boston Rubber Shoe Company founded by fourth cousin Elisha Converse) 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 was not 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. 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 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"), the first all-African American professional basketball team.  

1941–Present: War, bankruptcy, and new management

When the USA entered World War II in 1941, Converse shifted production to manufacturing rubberized footwear, outerwear, and protective suits for the military. Widely popular during the 1950s and 1960s, Converse promoted a distinctly American image with its Converse Yearbook. Artist Charles Kerins created cover art that celebrated Converse's role in the lives of high school and college athletes. Through its shoes, Converse developed into an iconic brand, and came to be seen as the essential sports shoe. In the 1970's, Converse purchased the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers from B.F. Goodrich. Converse lost much of its apparent near-monopoly from the 1970s onward, with the surge of new competitors, including Puma and Adidas, then Nike, then a decade later 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 relished for many years. While being employed at Converse, one of its employees (Jim Labadini {1968-78}), created the chevron and star insignia / logo that still remains on most of the footwear items.

The loss of market share, combined with poor business decisions, forced Converse to file for bankruptcy on January 22, 2001. In April 2001 Footwear Acquisitions, led by Mardsen Cason and Bill Simon, purchased the brand from bankruptcy and added industry partners Jack Boys, Jim Stroesser, Lisa Kempa, and David Maddocks to lead the turnaround of America's Original Sports Company. The new team drove Converse from the 16th largest footwear company to number 7 in three years which led to a buyout by Nike Inc. for $305 million, qualifying as the merger and acquisition of the year in 2003.
On July 9, 2003, the company accepted a US$305 million purchase offer from rival Nike

          

                      SpecialEditions

 Several special editions of Converse shoes have been made, including DC Comics, The Ramones, AC/DC the Sailor Jerry, Metallica, The Clash, Grateful Dead, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix, and Nirvana, the Control, green, brown or camouflage edition. Three new designs were created for high tops, inspired byThe Who. There is also a special collection released called 1Hund (red), where 15% of the profits are used to support HIV/AIDS relief. One hundred artists from around the world were chosen to create designs for the collection. 

        

            jack 

Purcell.

John Edward "Jack" Purcell (December 24, 1903 – June 10, 1991) was a Canadian world champion badminton player. Purcell was the Canadian National Badminton Champion in 1929 and 1930, and declared the world champion in 1933. He retired in 1945, and pursued a career as a stock broker. Purcell also designed an athletic shoe that bears his name, which is still popular today.