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Converse's advertising team at Ingalls startled Madison Avenue
Topic Started: Nov 20 2014, 01:28 AM (102 Views)
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In the wake of this success, Converse All Star Canvas made plans to market the Dr. J 2000 basketball shoe and the All Star 91, or Dennis Rodman shoe, in spring 1997 in time for the NBA's 50th anniversary. The company entered into deals with Rodman, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, and ABL star Theresa Edwards (40 percent of Chuck Taylor high tops were purchased by women) to help market its updated old shoe designs. In addition, Converse initiated a licensing agreement with A4 of Los Angeles to produce its Star 91 line of apparel and footwear, as well as two other men's apparel lines. The idea was to leverage the company's history as a long-time staple among professional athletes and to play up the emotional ties people had to the Converse brand.

Unfortunately, by the end of 1997, people had shifted from wearing basketball sneakers and other athletic shoes to what the industry called 'brown shoes'—work boots, hiking shoes, and casual footwear in brown or black. Converse All Star Hi Top slipped to sixth place in its industry, posting a $5 million loss despite record sales of $450 million and an increase in revenues, while throughout the sector inventories bloated and sales showed signs of going flat. In early 1998, Converse cut more jobs and changed its marketing strategy, instituting its new 'Stay true' campaign, designed to appeal to 12- to 18-year-old athletes and featuring younger players at the start of their careers.

The campaign was at least in part a reaction to the embarrassment brought upon the company by Rodman and Sprewell, whose behavior on and off court was no longer something with which the company wanted to be associated. The company also continued to promote its athletic originals, its Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell shoes.converse trainers sale continued to struggle throughout 1998, at which point it moved to reduce its heavy reliance on its basketball category and to institute other footwear categories, such as men's and women's athletic originals and action sports. Rupp's goals for the year included marketing the retro look, expanding the supply of children's lines, pursuing a larger share of women's and girl's athletic shoes, and garnering a significant portion of sales in its new action sports category—gear for boarding and eco-training.

Still the company's market share slipped further, from 3.6 percent in 1997 to 2.3 percent in 1998, and revenues for the year dropped about 30 percent to $308 million despite an increase in action sports sales.The company's strategy for 1999 was likewise broad. With sales outside of the United States now close to 50 percent of net revenues, converse trainers uk formed Converse Canada and assigned the new division exclusive distribution and license rights for footwear, apparel, hats, and bags in Canada. It also continued to promote its athletic originals in Japan, where they were a huge success, and its skate casual shoes in Europe.

Back home, it instituted a new approach to its children's product market, focusing on colorful and imaginative footwear designed specifically for children and partnering with OddzOn, Inc., marketers of Koosh sports toys. It also introduced a women's line of athletic originals in the spring of 1999.Drawing upon the fruits of the $6.5 million, $8.8 million, and $7.7 million it spent on research and development in 1996, 1997, and 1998, respectively, converse dance lace introduced a new shoe technology in 1999: He:01, a helium gas-cushioned shoe and the company's first technological innovation since the early 1990s.
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