Converse Sneakers

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.

Converse Sneakers: Converse All Stars & Chuck Taylor All Star Shoes.

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