Converse Inc. announced yesterday they will cease operations
of its Apex One, Inc. subsidiary effective immediately. In
connection with the announcement, SR VP of Converse and co-
founder of Apex, Michael Lewis has resigned. The announcement
comes less than three months after Converse acquired the sports
apparel company (Converse). The news "came at the end of a bad
day" for the sneaker manufacturer, according to Tom Nutile of the
BOSTON HERALD. Earlier, second-quarter earnings estimates were
lowered, and Dean Witter analyst Scott Emerman downgraded the
company's stock to "neutral" from "buy." Converse stock dropped
$1 to close at $7, only .25 cents above its all-time low, before
they "halted trading in the afternoon to announced closure of
Apex." Company President Gil Ford said fall orders for Apex
"haven't been as strong as expected" and that they will focus
their "resources on the operations of Converse, including our own
apparel program." Converse expects a loss of close to $6M from
footwear operations for the quarter. Nutile writes Converse's
contract with the NFL to be the official footwear for the league
is "still up in the air." The deal had been with Apex, but was
renegotiated and transferred to Converse. Spokesperson Jennifer
Murray: "It's a little premature. We're still having
discussions" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/10).
