Nike Didn't Buy Converse Out of Bankruptcy. Who Did? | Ep. 3

Converse has lost half its sales since 2023. It has been worse. On January 22, 2001, Converse filed for bankruptcy. 98 days later, its name was sold at auction. What did it give up? This documentary on Converse history checks the legend against the record: Converse's own SEC filings, the 2001 bankruptcy-sale contract, court and trade-journal records, and the wire stories of 2001. It follows the 68 days to the closing of the last American plant making Chuck Taylors, in Lumberton, North Carolina, the $117.5 million auction, and Nike's deal two years later, for about $305 million. And the story that Nike bought Converse out of bankruptcy? The record says someone else did. Legend Lens · Episode 3 — watch every episode in order:    • Legend Lens — All Episodes   Chapters 00:00 The Shoe From Malden 04:16 Changing Hands 07:11 Sixty-Eight Days 11:52 Just the Name 14:11 Two Years Later Sources Every number on screen shows its source. Main records: Nike's earnings reports (2023–2026), Converse's SEC filings (2001–2002), the 2001 asset purchase agreement and trademark assignment, Nike's 2003 8-K, a 2004 Delaware bankruptcy court opinion, U.S. Justice Department and NIOSH records (1972, 1982), India Rubber World (1928–1929), and 2001 reporting by the AP, The Christian Science Monitor and Smithsonian. Photos (Wikimedia Commons): Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, CC BY 4.0 · Rick Obst, CC BY 2.0 · ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0 · Pink Sherbet Photography, CC BY 2.0 · Paul Downey, CC BY 2.0 · Winniepix, CC BY 2.0 · Magnus D, CC BY 2.0 Some scenes are AI reconstructions and are labeled on screen. #LegendLens #Converse #SneakerHistory