Star Power: Converse Sales Up Due To Unique Marketing Effort

Chuck Taylor Variations Helping Boost Sales

Sales of the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoe have recently been “heading north on a fast track, the result of a whirlwind marketing effort this past year” that has seen over 1,000 styles of the shoe shipped to both shoe retailers like Foot Locker and “high-end boutiques like Barneys New York,” according to Stephanie Kang of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The standard shoe costs just $38, but “pricey variations include gold-metallic Chucks ($72), knee-high shearling-lined Chucks ($175), pin-striped Chucks ($55) –-even Chucks designed by menswear designer John Varvatos ($95).” A limited-edition pair of snakeskin high tops is selling for $1,800. The brand’s transformation from “fashion rebel to fashionista is largely the work of Nike,” which is “known for smothering acquisitions with the Nike name and swoosh logo.” However, neither the Nike name nor logo appears on the Chuck Taylors. With Converse, Nike is “staying well below the radar,” as it has put its “research-and-development archives and its storied marketing muscle at Converse’s disposal.” Kang writes Nike also “has raised Converse’s advertising profile,” as Converse spent $17.6M on ad media in ’05. A study by consulting firm Sports One Source showed year-to-date sales for Converse are up 12%, compared to a 5% increase for athletic shoes overall (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/23).