Athletic shoemaker Nike today said it had agreed to buy rival Converse — maker of the legendary Chuck Taylor All Star basketball sneakers— for $305 million.
The acquisition comes as Nike, Converse and other athletic shoemakers are capitalizing on the soaring sales and popularity of classic "old-school" sneakers that now account for at least 25% of global sales, according to industry estimates.
The deal is part of a plan by Beaverton-based Nike — the world's largest athletic shoemaker — to grow through non-Nike brands. Converse, nearly a century old and once a dominant sports shoe marketer but now a relatively small player, will be backed by Nike's huge financial resources and marketing skills.
"Converse is one of the strongest footwear brands in the world with great heritage and a long history of success," said Tom Clarke, Nike's president of new business ventures, in a statement.
The canvas high tops and shoes made by Converse, based in North Andover, Mass., were once a common sight across the nation's schoolyards and professional playing fields. Since they were introduced in 1917, Converse has sold more than 750 million pairs of All Stars shoes. They were renamed Chuck Taylor All Stars in 1923 after a well-known basketball star who helped popularize the brand.
However, during the 1970s and 1980s, Converse began to lose a grip on the market as Nike and other rival upstarts began to introduce more sophisticated shoes backed with savvy marketing campaigns. Nike overtook Converse as the largest sneaker maker in the early 1980s after it signed an endorsement deal with NBA rookie Michael Jordan and developed the hot-selling Air Jordans line.
Despite the popularity of retro-sneakers that have pumped up Converse sales, the company remains relatively small, with annual sales of about $200 million compared to the more than $10 billion reported by Nike.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.
Over 1650 posts and still never a Wiener of the Day! But I'm not bitter!
Q: If you could have one superpower -- the strength of 100 men, invisibility, or the ability to fly -- which would you choose and why?
Michael Vick: Oh man, invisibility. If I was in a bad situation or something or I said something or you know, caught with two girls I could just disappear. I could be gone just like that -- no trouble.
"I don't understand the creative process. Actually, I make a concerted effort not to understand it. I don't know what it is or how it works but I am terrified that one green morning it will decide not to work anymore, so I have always given it as wide a bypass as possible."-- William Goldman
Dude, Chucks have been back on the market now for a while. They're easy to find and still cheap (in comparison to other retro shoes like Nike Air Force One's). I say get them now while they're still the Converse originals and not some Nike ripoff of the model.
"Behind that twinkle in your eye, I can see the bitch in you." - 50
All I gotsta say is this... if Nike fucks with the Chuck Taylors, there should, in fact, be hell to pay for this. It's so God damned hard to find good hightops anymore.
"Is this just your 40 favorites or is there some other criteria involved here? I feel like I'm looking at a list of the 40 best Uruguayan light-heavyweights compiled by the DVDVR boys." - JayJayDean to Feely
It's really not a big deal. They have style, dammit. :)
"Is this just your 40 favorites or is there some other criteria involved here? I feel like I'm looking at a list of the 40 best Uruguayan light-heavyweights compiled by the DVDVR boys." - JayJayDean to Feely
If it makes you feel any better, I'm 33 and I've worn Chuck Taylors for years on end. I don't really give a shit about whether they're in style with the young 'uns -- they're cheap, comfortable, and wear well, which is all I ask for.
"next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?"
I see them at Meijer's all the time, and my wife actually found me a pair of black low tops for $30 (size 13) when she was in Atlanta on business earlier this year (I'm a very lucky man).
A buddy of mine still wears them to play basketball, and aside from Spider-Man shoes, outfits his son with 'em as well.
I like my Nike cross-trainers, but the swoosh has no place on Chucks. Let's hope they don't become $80-$90 shoes under the influence of Mr. Knight.
"You have the right to suffer. You have the right to feel pain. If you wish to have an attorney present, I'll hurt him too!" - The Big Bossman
Dude, Chucks have been back on the market now for a while. They're easy to find and still cheap (in comparison to other retro shoes like Nike Air Force One's). I say get them now while they're still the Converse originals and not some Nike ripoff of the model.
Damn, I need to get to a shoe store. I've been wearing the same pair of Nikes since 1999.
Over 1650 posts and still never a Wiener of the Day! But I'm not bitter!
Q: If you could have one superpower -- the strength of 100 men, invisibility, or the ability to fly -- which would you choose and why?
Michael Vick: Oh man, invisibility. If I was in a bad situation or something or I said something or you know, caught with two girls I could just disappear. I could be gone just like that -- no trouble.
"I don't understand the creative process. Actually, I make a concerted effort not to understand it. I don't know what it is or how it works but I am terrified that one green morning it will decide not to work anymore, so I have always given it as wide a bypass as possible."-- William Goldman