ADV ACCOUNT PLANNING AND RESEARCH

Client information

Converse Inc (Converse), a subsidiary of NIKE Inc, is a retailer of apparels and accessories. The company offers products such as sneakers, shirts, t-shirts, jackets and vests, pants and tights, hoodies and pullovers, shorts, socks, sports bras, crops and capris, and others. It also provides bags and backpacks, gloves, hats, sunglasses, custom shoes and boots, sandals, and others. Converse offers online shopping, shipping and delivery, returns and exchange, and online ordering services. The company operates through its stores in the US. Converse is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the US. ("Converse Inc," 2018) With its roots as a popular basketball shoe worn by professionals, Converse has morphed under NIKE into a fashionable footwear maker for those off the court, too. It has sold some 750 million pairs of its classic Chuck Taylor All Star canvas basketball shoes, which appeal to consumers ranging from kids to clothing designers. It also licenses its name to sports apparel makers. Converse produces products under the One Star, Chuck Taylor All Star, and Jack Purcell names. It sells them through its own stores and through retailers the likes of Target and even DSW. Converse operates as a separate unit from NIKE's competing sports brands, reining in the kitsch value of Converse's vintage Chuck Taylor brand. (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.). With a capital investment of $250,000, Marquis Converse founded Converse Rubber Co. in Marden, mass., in 1908 with 15 employees. Not long after Converse, “Converse All Star shoes” were introduced in 1917, the company achieved a major breakthrough. The shoes were chosen by young basketball star Chuck Taylor as his favorite basketball sneaker. Taylor joined converse's sales team in 1921 and - in one of the earliest sports endorsement cases - peddled shoes at basketball clinics he held at schools and colleges. Taylor's signature was added to the label in 1923.

The 4 P’s of Converse will be the product, place, price and the place. First of all, the product of Converse will be shoes, “CONVERSE NEW STAR” shoes will be extended and even more design of different styles. Secondly, Massachusetts-based Converse sells its footwear and other items globally through retailers in more than 160 countries and through about 85 company-owned retail stores nationwide and half a dozen international retail stores. The company maintains a facility in Ontario, California, from which it ships products for two of NIKE's affiliate brands -- Converse and Hurley. Its largest direct distribution markets are the US, the UK, and China. Footlocker-the company's largest customer, accounts for about a fifth of sales. Converse sells products to retailers through local and regional distributors. (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.). While with the development of internet, online shopping becoming more and more convenience. Third of all, the price of Converse’ shoes is acceptable for college students, the lowest price of “ALL STAR LOW TOP” is 50 us dollars, other styles will among 55 to 90 us dollars except limited production. Different from Air Jordan, the cheapest shoes will be slippers, the price is around 55 dollars, the lowest price of basketball shoes is around 90 dollars. At last but not least, the promotion of Converse is selling the shoes as a kind of cultural- “Whether they’re on the feet of a ‘70’s basketball star in a history book or on the street with you today, Chucks have always signified cool...because you wear them. We don’t know where you’ll go, but we know you’ll take Converse to the future with you.” (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

SWOT analysis

The strengths of the converse shoes are popular because they are not only fashionable but also comfortable. Some of these features include vulcanized soles, rounded tips and wraparound strips. The all star shoes are well known around the world, the strengths of Converse are not only the price of it but also the cultural of this brand. Converse has been making Chuck Taylor All Star and One Star sneakers since we started over a century ago, and now we work to make new street style classics. What you wear defines sport, street, and creative culture, and we’ve been redefining it with you all along. When you wear Converse products, you create a culture of authentic street style simply by being yourself. Here is the market share of the Converse’ finance from 2010 to 2017. ("Historical Financial," 2016).

Converse do the advertising on Facebook, Instagram, online and offline. In addition, prices in the economy sector range from $55 to $130 and are affordable for all categories of customers. While the outstanding design of Converse shoes will be one of the most strengths, Converse stands out in color and modeling, and is very fashionable and modern. Furthermore, the Converse Shoe is guaranteed comfort by the customer, a feature that makes it popular with runners and runners alike.

One of the weakness of Converse shoes is that it is a subsidiary of NIKE Inc, it limits the expanding. On another hand, consumers are familiar with the “Chuck” and “All-star” styles of Converse, the company have to expand more series to attract customers attention.

The Chinese footwear market grew by 10.5% in 2017 to reach a value of $62.2 billion. ("China-footwear," 2006) It is obviously that people will not only be satisfied with one or two pairs of shoes, by the increasing of per capita income, customers would like to spend more on their shoe industry. Especially online shopping is the most convince way to buy the products. Converse has to pay efforts to create the enjoyable and easy way for people to shopping online.

Competitors such as Vans, Puma, and Adidas give tremendous of pressures for Converse. ("Converse Inc," 2018) In addition, there are so many brands that are counterfeit sold at lower price which has negative impacts on the sale of Converse.

Consumer insights

The new collection features Missoni's iconic patterns printed on the signature Chuck Taylor All Star and Chuck Taylor All Star Fancy sneakers. The new Fall 2014 Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Missoni collection launches exclusively at Nordstrom (nordstrom.com) on Aug. 4 and includes a style exclusive to Nordstrom. The rest of the collection will be available at Converse retail stores and converse.com on Aug. 28. Available exclusively to Nordstrom, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Missoni low-top features the classic zig zag print and is available in both men and women sizes. Available Colors include Lucky Stone/Egret. Suggested Retail Price: $85 US Available in unisex sizing, three iconic Missoni prints are featured on the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star high-tops and low-top in Black/Egret, Auburn/Egret and Mediterranean/Egret. Suggested Retail Price: $85 - $100 USD. Available exclusively for women, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Fancy serves as the perfect blank canvas for two of Missoni's distinct patterns. These styles feature a more feminine silhouette that still maintains the classic Chuck Taylor look in available colors Hollyhock/Auburn and Black/Egret. Suggested Retail Price: $95 - $100 USD. (“Converse unveils Converse Chuck Talyor All Star Missoni collection,” 2014) College students’ budget is perfect with the price of the shoes Converse selling. Most college students care about their dressing, they are willing to spend money on shoes, they follow fashion and like fresh design. The Chucks brand has been used to two age groups ranging 13-19 years of age and also the Entry-level professionals between the ages 20-35. (Hitesh, 2019). The age of college students is among 18-21 and above. That a large part of the target of Converse. The costs for man’s footwear 2019 in China are 170,193,5 CNY million, Russia are 195,077,7 RUB million, USA are 28,646 USD million. The costs for woman’s footwear in 2019 are 211,575,0 CNY million, Russia are 520,759,6 RUB million, USA are 39,026,7 USD million. (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.). From the comparison of men's and women's expenditure on shoes, it can be seen that women's expenditure is higher, which is the main reason why I choose women as the segmentation.

Problem Definition

Although trucks and all-star shoes are classic. These two shoes have always been the world of Converse, which is not a good thing for the beauty of a place and the rapid development of the economy nowadays. Chuck and all-star shoe models are very famous, so we can expand the product design to promote the popularity of these two classic shoe models. But in order to attract more consumers, we need to design more appealing styles, rather than focusing on the two classic styles. The most important thing is to create different kind of styles, such as cute styles, rock style and so on. To learn about the costumer’s’ opinions, more research questions are required to take. I would like to start with the qualitative question first. Observation of the female college students’ footwear in campus is one of the ways to learn about the styles they like. Quantitative questions are also important to the decision weather Converse should spend or time on Designing more styles of shoes, do the survey in campus or online to learn about today’s college female interests.

1. Do you have a pair of Converse shoes at home? Or would you like to buy a pair of converse shoes?

2. Have you been wearing of the design of Converse shoes?

3. Will you expect to the new design of Converse shoes?

References

Converse Inc. (2018). Retrieved from