is-converse-nike

Is Converse Nike? Who Owns Converse Explained

Business / By / February 23, 2023

Nike owns Converse. Indeed, Converse is an independent brand within Nike, which has its operations, while it’s integrated into Nike’s wholesale distribution strategy. Nike is owned by the Knight family (who founded the company). Nike acquired Converse in 2003 for $305 million. Converse generated $2.35 billion in revenue in 2022.

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Converse is an independent brand part of Nike’s family of brands. Indeed, Converse generated $2.35 billion in revenue in 2022. And like Nike, it follows an heavy Wholesale distribution strategy, where most of its sales are made through footwear. However, Converse also follows a direct distribution approach, selling directly via its mono-brand stores.

In a $305 million deal, Nike acquired ownership of Converse in 2003.

To put the deal in context, Converse, which was founded in 1908, it was almost a century-old, iconic shoe company.

Yet by the early 1990s, the company was going bankrupt.

While by the early 2000s, the brand had been strengthened, it still struggled financially.

Converse has iconic brands like Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Starย , and Jack Purcell.

Read: Converse Business Model.

Related to Nike

Who Owns Nike

who-owns-nike
The Knight family owns Nike. Indeed, the top individual shareholder is Travis A. Knight, son of Philip Knight, co-founder of Nike, with a 7% stake in Class A stocks and a 2.7% stake in Class B stocks. On the other hand, the Knight family also controls the company tightly through their Trusts and an LLC called Swoosh (the Nike logo’s shape is a “swoosh”). Through individual shares, Swoosh LLC, and Travis Knight’s irrevocable trust, the Knight family controls over 97.1% of Class A and 21.4% of Class B stocks.

Nike Business Model

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Nike follows a wholesale strategy combined with a very strong direct distribution. The company makes money primarily from footwear. As of 2022, over 62% of revenues came from footwear and 29% from apparel. The most successful Nike brand is the Jordan Brand, which in 2022 generated $5.2 billion in revenue. Nike is the master of demand creation and generation through its influencer campaigns, where athletes become an inspiration for everyday people.

Nike Strategy

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Nike leverages both a wholesale and direct distribution strategy. Indeed, while still in 2022, most sales come from wholesale distribution, in reality, since 2020, Nike has been ramping up its direct distribution through its NIKE stores and e-commerce platform (SNKRS).

Nike Revenue

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Nike generated most of its revenue from footwear. Indeed, in 2022, Nike generated over $29 billion in revenue from footwear, over $13.5 billion in apparel, $2.35 billion in equipment, and over $1.6 billion from the Converse brand.

Nike Financials

nike-financials
Nike generated over $47.7 billion in revenue and over $6 billion in net profits in 2022, compared to over $44.5 billion in revenue and almost $5.8 billion in 2021.

Nike Mission Statement

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Nike’s vision is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” At the same time, its mission statement is to “do everything possible to expand human potential. We do that by creating groundbreaking sports innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team, and by making a positive impact in communities where we live and work.”

Nike SWOT Analysis

nike-swot-analysis

Nike Competitors

nike-competitors

Jordan Business Model

jordan-business-model
Jordan follows a demand generation business model, where its iconic brand works as a propeller for the sale of its footwear and apparel, that in 2022 generated more than $5 billion in revenue for Nike or more than 10% of its total revenue.

Converse Business Model

converse-business-model
Converse is an independent brand part of Nike’s family of brands. Indeed, Converse generated $2.35 billion in revenue in 2022. And like Nike, it follows an heave Wholesale distribution strategy, where most of its sales are made, through footwear. However, Converse follows also a direct distribution approach where it sells directly via its monobrand stores.

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About The Author

Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
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