COMPANY BACKGROUND

Company Perspectives:

The Company's marketing strategy is centered on the Converse All Star brand, which is positioned as the American performance brand with authentic sports heritage. The company believes that there are significant opportunities to build the brand, which commands high consumer awareness generated by reason of its 91-year history. The company's consumer research has become an integral part of its product development, advertising campaigns and in-store point of purchase materials.

Key Dates:

1908: The company is founded as Converse Rubber Co.

1917: Converse introduces the All Star, one of the world's first basketball shoes.

1929: Converse Rubber Co. falls into bankruptcy.

1972: Converse is purchased by the Eltra Corporation and acquires the footwear division of B.F. Goodrich Co.

1979: Allied Corporation purchases Converse.

1982: Allied Corporation sells Converse to a group of its senior managers.

1983: Converse stock becomes available on the NASDAQ national market.

1984: The company signs agreements with Moon-Star Chemical Corp., Mizuno Corp., and Zett Corp. to handle the manufacture, distribution, and sale of Converse footwear in Japan.

1985: The company is named the official shoe of the National Basketball Association.

1986: Converse is acquired by Interco Incorporated.

1994: Converse is spun off from Interco in November.

1999: Converse introduces the He:01 shoe.

Company History:

Converse Inc. is the largest manufacturer of athletic footwear in the United States, producing approximately 8.4 million pairs of shoes domestically in 1998. It owns and operates a manufacturing facility in Lumberton, North Carolina, where it produces the majority of its athletic originals, and leases manufacturing plants in Mission, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico. The Converse All-Star basketball shoe was the first in the athletic footwear industry, and by the early 1990s, more than 500 million pairs, in more than 56 colors and styles, had been sold in more than 90 countries worldwide. In addition, the company has diversified into varied rubber products, sports apparel, and full lines of athletic shoes for tennis, cross-training, team sports, running, walking, and children's recreation.