What’s Going On with Nike and Converse?

Not all legacy shoe brands carry the same cache. Converse, the OG sneaker brand responsible for the Chuck Taylor All-Star, which sparked the entire athletic footwear industry as we know it, has long been owned by Nike, and is still a heavyweight in the footwear space, rolling out non-stop variants of the Chuck, a new performance basketball shoe star in the Shai 001, influencer deals with stars like Tyler, the Creator, a skate team, and more. But all is not well with the One Star company, sparking industry predictions that Nike might want to cut ties with Converse altogether.

The speculation - and to be clear, it is just speculation and nothing more - comes from BNP Paribas Equity Research senior analyst Laurent Vasilescu, whose recent client note on Converse was quoted in a story from WWD and other fashion and business news sites after Nike’s latest 10-Q filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission became public on December 30, 2025. In addition to Vasilescu’s speculation, Business of Fashion writer Mike Sykes expressed worry at the filing, noting that the documents showed a 44% decrease in demand creation, or overall marketing, for Converse, suggesting poor overall financial health for the legacy brand.

In his client note, Vasilescu made sure to detail that a potential departure from Converse would be significant, but not unprecedented. “A potential divestiture would not be Nike’s first. Rather, it would cap off a long history of divestitures from Cole Haan, Umbro, Starter, Bauer, and Hurley,” Vasilescu said. “A divestiture of Converse would finalize the divestiture of Nike’s acquired brands, a further testament that brand acquisition is hard to pull off.”

As for what that would mean for athletes and entertainers currently under contract with Converse (and thusly Nike), like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyler, the Creator, and skaters like Louie Lopez, but odds are that there would be some sort of option for Nike to roll them into the Swoosh family rather than include those contracts in any potential sale, but those are details that would be worked out only if Nike truly does plan to part ways with Converse altogether.

To reiterate, any speculation about a potential Converse sale is just that, speculation, but if the brand continues to flounder despite the renewed hype brought by SGA, Tyler, and more, there might not be many options left besides the auction block. To keep up with all the latest sneaker business news, make sure to download the Sole Retriever mobile app.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com