Introduction
Converse is an international brand of shoes that needs to be introduced. While this brand is not as popular as Adidas and Nike, it still has its own fanatic fan base. After successfully working for a shoe company, a 47-year-old quit his job and started his own business. Marquis Mill Converse resigned as a respected manager and opened another small company in Malden, Massachusettes. Started in 1908, the Converse Rubber Shoe Company is a retail business by making rubber shoes for all parties to garden, sightsee, go to the market, sweep the garbage or play ball. After seven years, it was in 1915 that Converse was tapping into the sports industry by producing tennis shoes.
It started in 1921 when a basketball player came to see him and complained of foot pain. As a basketball player, Charles 'Chuck' Taylor suggested that the Converse logo be inserted on the inside of the shoe to protect the ankle. Converse found the proposal interesting and celebrated the proposal with the Converse C logo and a star placed on the inside of the shoe. In return, Chuck was given the opportunity to become a Converse sales agent and to be the ambassador to introduce Converse to his basketball friends.
Not enough for basketball, probably because of the quality of the All-Star pair, Converse was also awarded a contract for rubber-based equipment such as shoes for American soldiers training in World War II in 1941. After the war ended, Converse colonized the minds of American children and adolescents by publishing a yearbook (Converse Year Book) featuring children and teenagers wearing Converse All-Star shoes. As a result, in the 1950s to 1960s Converse became a craze for American schools and colleges, especially student-athletes. Up to 500 million pairs of All-Star shoes have been sold, accounting for 80% of the running shoe market. In addition, Converse has sponsored an American first professional black team, New York Renaissance. So far Converse has been named the official shoe of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
After Converse was relieved to embark on a dream of conquering the United States, brands from outside the United States such as Adidas, Puma, and Onitsuka Tigers emerged as well as local brands such as Nike that began to compete with Converse. Converse is getting more and more excited when basketball players are about to leave Converse and choose a new sporty and modern design. Converse was no longer able to become a major player in the industry. It's even worse when the title 'NBA Official Shoes' has been stripped of Converse. Converse made every effort to keep up with current trends by improving its basketball footwear, but luckily it still didn't stand in the way of this once-great company. After no longer being a major player in the basketball industry, Converse began to settle down and focus its sales on the majority of those who did not play basketball, but only used Converse shoes, especially for teenagers. Although Converse has a place in a handful of teens, its limited design collections have led to Converse's decline in the local market.
Since the early 90s, the US economy has been in decline. Converse also cannot escape its effects. Debt is getting worse, as competition intensifies, and demand for Converse-made shoes is decreasing. Converse is deteriorating and unable to fight another company. At its peak, in 2001 Converse was declared bankrupt. Then, in April 2001, Acquisition of Shoes, led by Marsden Cason and Bill Simon, bought the brand from the bankruptcy and added industry partners Jack Boys, Jim Stroesser, Lisa Kempa, and David Maddocks to lead the recovery. In 2003, Converse again changed hands. Nike has purchased Converse brands and their various products such as shirts, pants, hats, keychains, and more. In January 2013, Converse announced plans for a new headquarters building and moved in April 2015.
Today the company's portfolio includes products under the Converse, Cons, Chuck Taylor All-Star, Jack Purcell, One Star, and Star Chevron trademarks. Converse also frequently collaborates on special edition product releases with other brands such as John Varvatos. 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. As of 2019, Converse sold products through 109 company-owned retail stores in the United States and 63 stores in international markets. Converse employees are counted among the 76,700 employees of Nike Inc. worldwide
Raw materials
The shoes are made from canvas, rubber, synthetic dye, metal eyelets, and adhesive that is specially made in the Converse manufacturing plants. The laces are made from polyester and plastic.
Manufacturing
Converse shoes are created using a double-wrap vulcanized shoe-making process. In this process, the canvas upper receives a pre-wrap, a thin layer of rubber, before the rubber outsole is attached. The pre-wrap and outsole are bonded and these parts of the shoe are heated in a vulcanizing oven at temperatures over 300°F. Once this is complete and the rubber has been cured, the rubber toe cap is trimmed and the outer wrap is applied. Finally, the foxing tape is applied, along with the all-star logo, to cover the seams of the outer wrap.
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Life of use
Converse is known for appealing to a diverse population of customers. They are commonly used as an athletic shoes, for everyday fashion, and as a form of creative expression. Due to the nature of shoes, it is difficult to determine the exact lifespan of Converse. If worn every day, the shoes generally last for about one year. Also, the shoes generally hold together better in warmer climates than in colder climates. For example, I am a fan of converse shoes here is my photo with my converse shoes.
Disposal
After they are worn out, shoes can either be recycled or thrown away. With Nike’s ReUSE-A-Shoe program, the shoes can be ground down and separated into rubber, foam, and fiber. These materials are used to create new ways to play and are used in track surfaces, gym floor tiles, and playground mats. This recycling program is a much better alternative than throwing the shoes away. When thrown into a landfill, the shoes decompose at a rate of 1 year for canvas, 50 - 80 years for rubber, 20 years for polyester, and 70 years for plastic. Find a Nike ReUSE - A - Shoe location near you.
Weakness of Converse
Lack of Differentiation
Though Converse has different names for different categories of shoes, they have a lot of products on one line with minute differences that is not easy to spot. This lack of differentiation often creates confusion in the mind of the customers. Almost all the shoes are in the same design making it difficult for customers to find the shoes they want. This same design also makes people less interested in these shoes. Although they have worked with many famous people to collaborate, they still maintain their original design. For example, when Nike bought Converse in 2003, Jack Purcell's shoes were kept in production, and are still in production today. Jack Purcell shoes are very similar to the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, except Jack Purcell shoes have better support and curved curves, and have a 'small feet' smile on the front. Classic Purcell tennis shoes have not changed since their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s when they were first dubbed 'Tips Blue' and 'Smilies', but they have increased in price from 1965 to the present. many appeals to fashion from sports use.
Not a variety of product choices:
Since their products just intend to provide some basic color versions for the first time released such as Black, Red, Blue, Grey, Burgundy, and White, it will limit customer choices from choosing their favorite colors of their shoes. Thus, to address this problem, we need to make the customers focus more on the quality and not just focusing on the shoe color. Although there are many different colors for customers to choose from, they still maintain the same footprint and only change the pattern on the shoe. Many customers say that they are tired of the same Converse footwear and the same.
Low brand position
The brand name Converse is very well-known for almost everyone from young kids to adults; however, the Converse shoes position is placed at the mid-range shoes in customers' mind since many people believe Converse is just a“casual wear shoes” or maybe “cheap shoes “ when compared to other brands such as Addidas, Vans or New Balance. Many people are still not interested in these shoes because of the lack of advertising to attract attention and many consider these shoes to be 'old fashioned”. With the introduction of a new brand that makes the shoe design more attractive, Converse's consumers are becoming fewer and fewer. Converse shoes are considered outdated due to the emergence of new types of shoes for young people to wear. This makes Converse less likely to occupy the hearts of consumers for purchase or sale because the factors that make these shoes are no longer attractive and popular.
Focusing on a particular segment of people
If you're a rock enthusiast, you should know about these rockers' official shoes. Not a few rock kids use Converse. While some rockstars prefer Dr. Martens or Adidas shoes as their shoes, they are still unable to resist the influence of Converse All-Star. While these shoes look simple, they are actually durable and flexible and most importantly these shoes are reasonably priced. Converse has always been associated with Grunge music groups like Nirvana. This is because, Kurt Cobain's spirit always wore these cheap shoes until he died, and he still wore a pair of Converse All-Star shoes.
Recommendations and implementation plan
Product Development
Converse is said to be less of a concern nowadays because its footwear is hard and will hurt its users' feet. The same, slightly thicker footwear makes it difficult for users to wear those shoes more often. Converse, therefore, needs to develop its product. For example, footwear that is often said to be thick and painful can be replaced with something comfortable and not too painful. Also, diversify the pattern or design on the shoe canvas fabric. For example, put more interesting and unique patterns to it. Converse is also often said to be obsolete and has not changed since with each of its new shoes, there has been no change in the shape of its footwear. Still no changes like Nike or Adidas shoes. If there is a change to the shoe site it is just one line or no line. So recently Converse has introduced their new shoes with something very unique and exciting. They have also released shoes that can change color. The classic white sneaker changes to bright shades of orange, blue, and purple when exposed to sunlight. Their shoes also have a new and more unique site than others.
Make promotions and introduce more product
Converse is known for its unique and attractive canvas shoes. Many teenagers wear it because it is so unique and different from ordinary canvas shoes. However, many are unaware that Converse has also released many products such as clothes, bags, hats, and more. Converse, therefore, needs to promote or re-introduce its new product. Promotions should also be done on their products so that customers will not focus only on footwear but also on other products. Not everyone knows that Converse also produces a variety of products because promotions are always done on shoes only. Therefore, promotion of other products should also be done so that the brand can compete with the current well-known brand. People would also be more interested if Converse had a range of new and exciting products for consumers around the world.
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