Chen Qiang was holding a pair of sneakers in his hand and was playing with it thoughtfully.

This is a pair of Converse's Huk Taytor all star sneakers, which is the all-star classic canvas shoes in one of the three classic series of Converse. This shoe is known as the ancestor of sports shoes, and is even regarded by many people as a spiritual symbol of American culture. Even a hundred years later, this shoe is still the choice of many trendy people.

Converse released this sneaker in 1917. It is unknown who designed this pair of sneakers. What we can trace now is that this pair of shoes was first produced in a shoemaking factory in Massachusetts, because Converse was founded in Maldon, Massachusetts.

Converse was founded in 1908. It initially only followed the trend to produce various footwear, but did not have its own R&D capabilities. Until 1916, the American Rubber Company launched a rubber-soled shoe, which gave Converse a huge inspiration, so they launched this Huk Taytor all star sneaker in 1917.

This shoe was not so popular at the beginning. At that time, there was a basketball player named Chuck Taylor in the United States, who was also a basketball promoter and sneaker promoter. He proposed many improvements to this sneaker, which made this shoe gradually become popular. In the 1940s, not only basketball players, but even American soldiers also liked this comfortable sneaker. It was precisely because Chuck Taylor promoted this sneaker that this sneaker was named after his name.

By the 1950s, Huk Taytor all star sneakers had become the standard for basketball players. Whether it was high school players, college players or professional basketball players, all of them were using Huk Taytor all star sneakers. Until the 1960s, Huk Taytor all star sneakers accounted for 70% of the basketball shoe market in the United States.

It was also because of the hot selling of Huk Taytor all star sneakers that before the 1970s, Converse was always the largest sports brand in the United States. It was only in the 1970s that Adidas kicked off the altar.

Now that Chen Qiang wants to gain a place in the field of sports shoes, he must face Converse, and Converse's most classic huk taytor all star sneakers.

After many fine-tunings in the 20th and 30th centuries, by the 40s, flat rubber soles, half-moon toe, comfortable canvas, and simple style have become the biggest features of this pair of shoes.

Huk Taytor all star sneakers were not launched until 1971, so in the 1940s, this shoe only had a monochrome, either a black upper with a black sole, or a white upper with a white sole, among which the black one also had a leather upper style. In addition, during the Olympics, this shoe would also be launched with a particularly wide addition of blue and red decorations.

Chen Qiang’s hand was the white one. At this time, he couldn’t help but complain: “This color looks so rustic!”

The color of the Huk Taytor all star sneakers that people in later generations are most familiar with, the color of the huk taytor all star sneakers should be the black upper and the white sole. The toe part has a white curved shape, which is connected to the color of the heel sole, and the upper position is Converse's big five-pointed star logo. Although this was also a design from the 1960s and 1970s, it was not even a lag in 2019.

But the 1944 Huk Taytor all star sneakers, both in style and color, are too rustic.

"The main product of huk taytor all star sneakers, this shoe has been popular for 100 years, and it is not easy to defeat it." Chen Qiang said to himself.

Many people in later generations commented that Converse is a brand that only sells "feelings", and this also indirectly shows that Converse really has "feelings" to sell. In the 1970s, Converse could sell retro models from the 1940s; in the 21st century, Converse began to sell retro models from the 1970s, which means that Converse could have the ability to cut leeks, and Nike and Adidas could not sell "feelings" for such a long time.

The huk taytor all star sneakers are Converse's most "feeling" pair of shoes. It is obviously unwise for Chen Qiang to challenge Converse and fight against Converse's best shoes from the beginning.

Therefore, Chen Qiang's first choice is not high-top sneakers like Huk Taytor all star.

Chen Qiang put down the huk taytor all star sneakers and picked up another shoe. It was a low-top shoe. The upper was pure white canvas. It looked special bleached. The sole was also a white rubber sole, but the entire sole was flat and had no grooves at all.

This is another Converse sneaker jak purell, which Chinese shoe friends call "smile". The reason for the name "smile" is that the toe of this pair of shoes is raised and a black horizontal strip is decorated, which looks like a smiling face, and it also looks like a beard played with on the lips when a man smiles.

Jak Purell is actually the name of Canadian badminton player Jack Pasel. In 1935, he improved a Converse sneaker and added a patch to the heel, which can give the sneakers better support. At the same time, using a flat sole without grooves, it can easily tear clay and grass, and it is easier to move when playing badminton. It is precisely because of Jack Pasel's changes to this sneaker that this sneaker is named jak Purell.

The three classic sneakers that Converse is proud of in the future are the three series of Huk Taytor all star canvas shoes, Jak Purell sneakers and Ons skateboard shoes. Converse's "feelings" mainly come from these three series. However, in 1944, Jak Purell sneakers were mainly used as badminton shoes and tennis lines.

Jak Purell is a low-top shoe, which is more practical than a high-top shoe. In theory, this kind of sneaker can adapt to various sports and can become the most popular civilian sports shoes. However, Converse in the 1940s obviously did not recognize this and just sold this shoe as a badminton shoe and tennis line.

During World War II, Converse also received a large order from the US side to produce military supplies for the US military, including boots, toe covers, foot protection, etc. It was not until the end of World War II that Converse began to pay attention to the sports shoe market again, and with several classic sports shoes, it became the largest sports brand in the United States.

If Chen Qiang wants to make a world of sports shoes, now is the best time. After all, Converse is busy supplying the military and neglecting the huge sports shoes market, which also gives Chen Qiang an opportunity to take advantage of it. If the war is over and Converse's focus returns to sports shoes, it will be much more difficult for Chen Qiang to grab food from Converse.

Chen Qiang continued to play with the pair of jak purells in his hand and made a decision in his heart. Nike's first sneakers were made of these low-top sneakers, and they were suitable for multiple sports, not just tennis and badminton. The first thing Chen Qiang had to beat was Converse's jak purells to smile!

Thinking of this, Chen Qiang picked up his pen and started drawing on the paper.

Unfortunately, Chen Qiang has no artistic skills, so he couldn't draw sketches of sports shoes after drawing for a long time.

So Chen Qiang had to find a designer in the company. While Chen Qiang used the description, the designer drew pictures according to Chen Qiang's description.

According to Chen Qiang's description, the designer drew a pair of very simple sneakers. The appearance looks very similar to Converse's jak purell, but the toe of the shoe is not raised and the position of the shoe mouth is relatively flat.

"Mr. Chen, do you think this is what it looks like?" the designer asked.

"It's almost the same!" Chen Qiang nodded, and then asked: "What do you think of these shoes?"

"I can't say it well." The designer replied. He probably had some concerns about the identity of Boss Chen Qiang, so he didn't dare to tell the truth, so he could only be careless.

"It doesn't matter, don't be scruples, just tell your true thoughts. You are a professional designer, and I hope you can get your opinions." Chen Qiang said.

Chen Qiang said so, but the designer couldn't refuse, so he had to say honestly: "I think the shoes give me the feeling that they are ordinary, just like mashed potatoes made by my mother, which can make me full, but they are the most ordinary food."

Chen Qiang nodded. The designer's view was very correct. This was indeed a pair of ordinary sneakers.

The style Chen Qiang took out is Cordys Royal sneakers.

Chinese people may not be familiar with the brand of Cordis, but Japanese people should be very familiar with Cordis. In the 1900s, Cordis was once popular in Japan and its popularity in Japan once exceeded that of Nike and Adidas.

Cordis is also a sports brand with more than 100 years of history. Even today, Cordis still has a place in the US market, especially Cordis's casual shoes, which pay great attention to taste and comfort.

The Cordys Royal sneakers were launched in 1949. This shoe is very ordinary in style, but it has many advantages, such as cheap prices, very comfortable canvas uppers, and very wear-resistant rubber soles, etc. So after the launch, this shoe became very popular immediately.

In the 1950s, Converse's Huk Taytor all star sneakers almost became the standard for basketball players, while other basketball players who did not wear Huk Taytor all star wore Cordis Royal sneakers, such as the famous George McCann, who wore Cordis Royal sneakers.

It can be said that in the 1950s, Cordis Royal sneakers were the only sneakers that could compete with Converse.

Cordis Royal is a pair of very ordinary and simple sneakers, without any fancy bells and whistles, but often, ordinary and simple are exactly what customers like. For example, old Beijing cloth shoes look very rustic, not bright in color, and old-fashioned style. The only advantage is that they are comfortable to wear, but it is also this advantage that allows old Beijing cloth shoes to survive the fierce competition.

"I copied out the Cordis Royal sneakers and should be able to fight Converse's jak purells. Cordis Royal is easier to process and the manufacturing cost is lower. What I have to do is to make the Cordis Royal cheap enough, and it will have an advantage when competing with Converse Jak purells."

Chen Qiang looked at the drawings, then picked up a pen and wrote a line of words on it: Nike No. 1.

Chen Qiang copied the style of Cordis Royal sneakers, but he couldn't even copy the name together. So Chen Qiang didn't plan to call this sneaker royal, but gave him a very easy-to-remember name Nike No. 1, because this will be the first sneaker produced by Nike.

However, Chen Qiang also knows that this Nike One alone can at most get a share of the American sneaker market. Nike One is a very ordinary sneaker after all. If Nike wants to really compete with Converse, it also needs a stunning work.

At this time, Chen Qiang recalled a super classic basketball shoe in his memory, that is Adidas' superstar superstar!

Adidas's supertar was launched in 1969. This shoe should be regarded as the first truly meaningful basketball shoe in history. It was with this basketball shoe that Adidas surpassed Converse and became the number one sports brand. In the 1970s, three-quarters of the stars on the American professional basketball court used Adidas supertar as their first choice shoe. It can be said that the one who really defeated Converse Huk Taytor all star was Adidas' supertar.

In the future, Adidas's supertar has already produced a series. After continuous improvement and development, supertar has gradually become a fashionable trendy shoe that spans fashion, music, street culture, leisure and sports.

With a white upper, white sole, black high top, and three iconic Adidas black bars on the side, this is the most primitive Adidas supertar. Anyone can guess that this pair of Adidas is a pair of Adidas, and the recognition of this pair of shoes is really too high.

But what most people don’t know is that the reason why Adidas was able to defeat Converse with the supertar was not because the appearance of the shoe was so beautiful, but because the shoe contained a lot of "black technology" at that time.

The upper of the adidas supertar is pure leather, but the toe is rubber, which allows the shoe to carry more gravity.

The tongue is also made of leather, but the filling inside is a foam pad, which can relieve the pressure brought by the shoe.

The black upper is actually soft, which will give users more protection and make the shoes more secure.

The patterns on the soles of the feet are very deep, giving players more grip.

Most importantly, the heel has a built-in nylon material stabilizer so that the player does not sprain his ankle when landing.

This series of designs made Adidas supertar quickly occupy the market after it was launched in 1969, and other sports brands' sneakers were even more overshadowed in front of it. Later, Adidas launched the Jabbar series and Model series based on the Supertar, which was also a great success. It was not until Nike's greatest Air Fore 1 was released that it defeated Adidas.

It can be said that Adidas's supertar is a truly amazing sneaker. If Chen Qiang wants to kill Converse, supertar is definitely the first choice. After all, Converse in history was also defeated by this shoe.

However, Adidas supertar is a real basketball shoe, which contains many "black technology" of that era. This requires technical research, materials, and production technology, and it requires little research. This is not something that Chen Qiang can solve by copying an appearance.

"Put Nike One to the market first. As for the technology in the supertar, we have to start research and development from now on, and strive to push the supertar sneakers to the market after the end of World War II, so that we can seize the market with Converse's Huk Taytor all star." Chen Qiang couldn't help but sigh. At this time, Chen Qiang suddenly realized that he underestimated the difficulty of making shoes. Although Chen Qiang had many classic sneakers in his mind, many things could not be solved by plagiarism.

It is definitely money to do R&D. Now that sneakers have not been built, Chen Qiang has not made a penny yet, so he has to spend a large amount of R&D funds first!
Chapter completed!