Converse

Often imitated, never duplicated. Both old school, and new school, Converse has manufactured one of the single most recognizable shoes in the world.

Founded in 1908, over 100 years ago, Converse was front and center for many of the NBA's greatest generations. As competition grew from the 70's onward, they slowly lost their market dominance, and in 2003, to avoid bankruptcy they sold their company to Nike for a cool 300 hundred million.

Never to be counted out they quickly rebounded by pushing old favorites like "The Weapon", calibrating many smart marketing plans and impressively had one of their most successful decades in history by resurrecting shoes that had established them as a footwear powerhouse just a few years prior.

While they still might not have the sales of their competitors Nike and Adidas, Converse strives to be on that level with their enormously popular Chuck Taylor shoes.