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Converse (company)

Converse, Inc.
Subsidiary of Nike, Inc.
Industry Accessories, apparel,
and sporting goods
Founded February 1908; 109 years ago (1908-02)
Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founder Marquis Mills Converse
Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Number of locations
More than 75
U.S. retail stores (2014)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jim Calhoun
(C.E.O and president)
Products Apparel, clothing,
and shoes
Revenue Increase$2.0 billion (2015)
Number of employees
2,658 (in U.S)
Parent Nike, Inc.
Website www.converse.com

Converse /ˈkɒnvərs/ is an American shoe company with a production output that primarily consists of apparel, skating shoes and lifestyle brand footwear. Converse is known as one of America's most iconic footwear companies.

The company was founded in 1908. Converse has been a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. since 2003. The company lost a huge monopoly after other companies presented their own styles, but Converse rebounded and changed the targeted audience. During World War II, the company shifted its manufacturing from the public, and instead made them for the military. It was one of the few producers of athletic shoes and for over a half century the company dominated the American court shoe market. Converse shoes are distinguished by a number of features, including; the company's star insignia, the All Star's rubber sole, smooth rounded toe, and wrap-around strip that have become extremely distinguishable internationally.

Converse manufactures its products under the Cons, Chuck Taylor All-Star, John Varvatos, and Jack Purcell trade names. In addition to apparel and footwear, the company sells other items globally through retailers in over 160 countries and through approximately 75 company-owned retail stores across the United States, and employed 2,658 in the U.S. in 2015.

At age 47, Marquis Mills Converse, who was previously a respected manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in February 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts. The company was a rubber shoe manufacturer, providing winterized rubber soled footwear for men, women, and children. By 1910, Converse was producing shoes daily, but it was not until 1915 that the company began manufacturing athletic shoes.


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