Who owns Converse?

In 1918, the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. Then, in 1923, a basketball player named Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. Converse gave him a job working as a salesman and ambassador. Taylor promoted the shoes around the United States.

In 1932, Taylor's signature was added to the All-Star patch on the classic, high-topped sneakers, and the shoes affectionately became known as "Chucks."

Converse is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and is broken down into three divisions:

• Sporting goods

• Footwear

• Industrial

The company is multinational and primarily designs, distributes, and licenses sneakers, skating shoes, and lifestyle apparel. It was one of the few products of athletic shoes for over half a century and dominated the American athletic shoe market.

Today, Converse's portfolio includes Converse, Cons, Chuck Taylor All-Stars (Chucks), One Star, and Star Chevron trademarks. Converse has 109 company-owned retail stores in the United States and 63 in international markets. In 2019, Converse had annual revenue of $1.91 billion, with over 4,000 employees working for the company.