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CONVERSE
HISTORY:
Converse, maker of the quintessential American canvas sneaker -
Chuck Taylor All Star basketball shoe, is an American footwear
company that has been manufacturing shoes for almost a century.
Founded in 1908 by Marquis Converse, the company was then known as
the Converse Rubber Shoe Company. As its name suggested, Converse
mass produced rubber soled shoes in its early days.
The first defining moment came in 1917 when the company started
making basketball shoes. It was then considered a rather
innovative but risky venture as the sport was still in its
infancy. And truth be told, these canvas and rubber shoes were not
particularly popular until the arrival of the legendary Charles
"Chuck" Taylor. Working as a Converse salesman, Chuck
Taylor helped popularized the Converse All Star basketball shoe so
much so that it outsold everything else on the market and became
arguably the most recognizable shoe on earth. The Converse shoe
company has since had the shoe adopt its current name, Chuck
Taylor AllStar, immortalized with Chuck Taylor's signature on the
ankle patch.
From its humble beginnings, and thanks to Chuck Taylor's
endeavors, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star is now the single
most successful shoe in history, having sold more than 750 million
pairs worldwide. The athletic shoe with the classic American look
has also enjoyed recent popularity due to a revival of old school
styles and classic looks.
However, with the arrival of competitors onto the basketball
sneaker scene such as Nike, Reebok and adidas, who introduced new
footwear designs and technologies in the 1970's, Converse began a
steady decline from a near-monopoly of the athletic shoe market in
the 1950's and 1960's, to filing for bankruptcy in 2001. In 2003,
the Converse Shoe Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of
NIKE, Inc. |
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| Related
searches: Converse shoes,
Converse All Star, Chuck Taylor All Star, Converse high tops,
Converse kids, etc. |
| Also
known as: Converse
Chucks, Converse boots, Chuckers, Chucks, Converse, Chuckie T's,
etc. |
| Popular
styles: Converse
Chuck Taylor All Star, Converse Weapon, Converse One Star,
Converse Jack Purcell, Converse John Varvatos, tc. |
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TOP
SNEAKER BRANDS: |
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A - D
Adidas
Airwalk
Asics
Baby Phat
Brooks
Columbia
Converse
Dada
DC
Diesel
|
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E - N
Easy Spirit
Fila
FUBU
Gravis
Keds
K-Swiss
MBT
Mecca
New Balance
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O - R
Oakley
Otomix
Palladium
Pro-Keds
Puma
Reebok
Rocket Dog
Rockport
Ryka
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S - Z
Saucony
Skechers
Timberland
Tretorn
TX Traction
Vans
Volatile
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| Other
search suggestions: Converse
Chuck Taylor All Stars shoes, tennis shoes, Tactical Boot, Slip-On,
Allstars, tennis shoes, Chuck Taylor All Stars, men's, women's, etc. |
| Resources
on the internet: Wikipedia
(1),
Wikipedia (2) |
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