Now they can be found at deep discounts: 53 percent off at Foot Locker, 40 percent off at Nordstrom. Another with water-resistant canvas sells for $110.Īs the world's largest athletic brand, Nike was able to push the Chuck II to its retail partners, the people said. There is one with mesh-backed leather for $100. The Chuck IIs started at $75, a 50 percent price increase. Chuck Taylor All-Star low-tops start at $50 on Converse’s website, a price point that has not changed much in the last five years. A new version also gave the brand a chance to charge more. Its core teenage customer had come to expect innovation and technology, he said. Still, last year Calhoun said Converse needed to do more than releasing Chucks in new colours or in special-edition collaborations with artists. The shoes were not comfortable, but then again, they never were. Today, they are close to $2 billion.Ĭonverse was hesitant to fix something that by most accounts was not particularly broken. Before Nike acquired the brand in 2003, annual sales were around $200 million. The popularity has been a boon to Nike, which was able to take an already-popular shoe and push it to a global distribution network. Actors and musicians as diverse as Winona Ryder, Bruce Hornsby, Joey Ramone, Justin Bieber and Kesha have all been photographed in Chucks.

Investors will get more insight into how the brand is doing on Tuesday when Nike reports quarterly results after the market closes.Ĭhuck Taylors, which began a century ago as cutting-edge basketball sneakers, have in the last 40 years become a rare fashion staple that cut across age, race, gender and subculture. Taking away the look was a mistake.”Ī spokeswoman for Converse declined to comment. “If they want to make a better Chuck Taylor, make a better Chuck Taylor,” says Hal Peterson, who runs sneakerhead website The Chucks Connection and owns about 200 pairs of Chucks.

Chucks! by Hal Peterson