‘We’ve never seen a 44% decline in demand for a brand’: Converse is in free fall and some suspect Nike may sell it

Converse makes up just 2.5% of Nike’s sales. Last quarter, it accounted for 20% of the company’s sales decline. Two years into Elliott Hill’s tenure as Nike’s CEO, the 118-year-old maker of the Chuck Taylor is a big drag on a comeback that isn’t coming together, with Converse sales down 28% in the most recent quarter and analysts openly wondering whether Nike will keep it in its portfolio. The brand is enduring an unusually long, deep cold streak. Analysts blame the falloff on Converse’s inability to innovate and its overreliance on the…