Nike to buy Converse
Nike, the dominating force in sneakers (er, athletic shoes) and sports apparel has made a bid to buy bankrupt Converse, a sneaker-making competitor. Converse is most famous for its retro "Chuck Taylor" high-tops. The offer is for $305 million, if it passes antitrust muster.
Nike, a $10 billion company, has 39% of the US market and sells the leading sneaker of all, the Air Jordan XVIII. Reebok is second with 12% market share. German Adidas/Salamon has 10%. Converse and New Balance are next, each with about 3% of the market. Buying Converse won't give Nike an overwhelming advantage. After all, the company once had almost 50% of US sales. But it will concentrate the oligopoly further. One imagines Nike thinks it can do better marketing the high-top sneakers (basketball sneakers are the most profitable part of the athletic shoes business.) Also, the made-in-USA label on some Nike product might be a plus, given Nike's bad PR for third-world sweatshops.
3:23:35 PM 
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