There are very few companies in the sportswear industry that can compete directly with the likes of Nike. Not only is it the biggest apparel brand in the world, with a value of around $33 billion, it’s also one of the biggest brands in general.
With almost 80,000 employees globally, Nike has truly immense power over the market. And the continued popularity surrounding its sneaker and streetwear as well as its high sales numbers ensure that Beaverton label will be able to hold on to this influence for many years yet to come.
This power has also allowed Nike to acquire a number of other companies over the years and increase their portfolio. However, many people often find themselves wondering whether Nike owns Converse. This is an interesting question considering the All Star brand has been a huge competitor since the ’60s
Want to find out whether Nike owns Converse, and what other companies they own? Then make sure you keep reading to find out everything that you need to know.
Back in 2003 (that’s 20 years ago!) Nike purchased Converse for a cool $315 million. What makes this even more intriguing is that Converse has been in the industry for much longer than the Swoosh, having originally been founded in 1908 as the Converse Rubber Shoe Company. However, the label was on the verge of bankruptcy in the 2000s, so Nike saved it by buying it.
Ever since, they have seen their profits climb back up. To put this into perspective, Converse’s revenue came in at about $560 million in 2007. In 2019, it was almost $2 billion, which is an average year on year growth of 10.7%.
Nike currently also owns a few other companies, and they have had a hand in creating some major ones too.
In 2021, Nike finalised the acquisition process to acquire Datalogue. Datalogue specialises in developing and maintaining programs that can collate and organise customer data. This allows the Oregon-based corporation to get directly involved with data marketing so that they can promote specific products to specific customers.
This acquisition was completed as part of a larger-scale effort to improve their digital offerings. The amount that Nike paid has never been publicly disclosed.
Also in the same year, Nike ventured into the metaverse by acquiring RTFKT. Founded in 2020, the digital collective is known for its virtual sneakers and exclusive collectibles which are minted as NFTs. In the past, RTFKT (pronounced artifact) have worked with icons from likes of Jeff Staple and Takashi Murakami. In fact, in 2021 alone, they sold over $3 million in virtual trainers. This is a whopping number for something that’s not physically tangible.
Nike have since released a wide range of online shoes and streetwear collections. And, like Datalogue, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but expected them to have paid hundreds of millions.
Of course, one of the most famous brands that is operated by Nike is Jordan Brand. We’ve already gone quite in-depth into this topic, but it’s important to state off the bat that they don’t own the entirety of the Jumpman imprint, because it was made in partnership with the one and only Michael Jordan.
Air Jordan was first established in 1984 when MJ agreed to sign a five-year contract that saw the NBA legend get paid a whopping $2.5 million. Nike expected to generate only around $3 million within the first three years of the deal, however, upon releasing the first pair of Jordans, they made well over $126 million in just one year. Through this alone, His Airness been able to earn over $1.3 billion. Yes, that’s “billion” with a “b.”
Aside from the companies that Nike currently owns, they have also owned a couple in the past too.
Many people tend to think of Umbro as one of Nike’s main competitors, so you might be surprised to find out that Nike actually owned them at one point. In 2007, the Beaverton brand finalised a deal to purchase the English sports equipment manufacturer, which they bought for around £285 million. This was carried out with the intention of Nike diversifying its portfolio to include more football-oriented brands.
However, this acquisition didn’t actually prove to be that profitable, so Umbro was sold to the Iconix Brand Group in 2012. That’s just how business works, folks.
Hurley is also another brand that was owned by Nike at one point. Purchased in 2002 for around $95 million, the reason why the deal went through is because its founder wanted to avoid the company going public on the stock market, which is what led Quiksilver and Billabong to face bankruptcy.
Nike operated Hurley for more than 17 years, before selling the company in 2019 for an undisclosed amount. This was because they were having trouble marketing to the surfwear market.
To wrap up, Nike do indeed own Converse. This acquisition has been extremely profitable, and we hope that this success continues for many years to come. The Swoosh have also owned a number of other companies across the decades, and they have also sold many too! Be sure to keep it locked at Captain Creps for more articles like this, and follow us over on Twitter for all of the hottest sneaker drops and restocks!
