Converse Tactical Chucks Update

So if you’ve been waiting with baited breath for an update on our Tactical Chucks call to action we put together after the SHOT Show this year, I feel that we’ve waited on a response from Converse long enough.

On February 10th we received an email from Jason Thome, Media Relations Manager for Converse. That was right before we’d received the last of our 1,000 signatures on the “Help Get These Tactical Chucks Made” petition.

The full email dialogue is pasted in its entirety below, to provide our readers with some answers straight from Converse.

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February 10, 2010

Hi, I saw your petition on your site. Converse appreciates your enthusiasm for our brand and product! Contrary to a previous statement from Converse customer service, we don’t have plans to commercialize the specific Chuck Taylor All Stars you are referencing. However, we have produced very similar models and currently offer product based on archive models. Some that were originally made for the military. Sorry for any confusion.

Also, can you please send me your email?

Thank you,
Jason

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February 10, 2010

Jason,

Thank you for contacting us, however I’m disappointed to hear Converse has no plans to produce this shoe despite the huge interest the tactical community (Military, Law Enforcement, etc.) has expressed.

What are Converse’s reasons for not considering this model for production?

When you mention that you’ve produced similar models and offer product based on archive models, what does this mean? Can you provide me with images of these aforementioned models?

Thank you for your time,
Bryan Black
Editor-in-Chief, ITS Tactical

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February 10, 2010

Hi Bryan,

The shoe from your site appears to be a vintage Chuck Taylor. What I mean is that we literally have hundreds of Chuck Taylor models that we have produced throughout the years. During our 100^th anniversary year we re produced some archival items and we continue to do so. If you are specifically interested in those colors, we have some upcoming models that have similar colors, but they may not be an exact replica of those shoes. Some examples of some products we have done recently are below and you can see this boot that is currently available on this link: http://www.converse.com/#/products/Shoes/ChuckTaylor/112487

photos attached to email:

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March 4, 2010

Jason,

As per your dialogue about upcoming models having similar colors, is there any more information about those? I’m not sure if you’re aware, but we’ve hit the 1,000 signature mark we were shooting for on the petition  http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/tacticalchucks

Does this kind of interest from your customers not have any effect on what Converse will consider for production? We’re going to be writing a follow up article on ITS Tactical and we were hoping it would be good news in terms of actually seeing the shoe in the petition produced.

I’m not sure what it will take for Converse to take notice of the interest and produce the shoe. There will be some very disappointed customers if our update to the petition is truly one of Converse ignoring the voice of its customers.

Could you please state the reasons for this shoe not being produced, if in fact that is Converse’s decision? Also is there a magical number of customers that need to speak up on a petition to get this shoe made? 5,000? 10,000? Is there a possibility of seeing this shoe as an option in the Converse Custom Store?

Thank you for your time,
Bryan Black
Editor-in-Chief, ITS Tactical

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Details

So now that you guys all know the backstory, let me fill in a couple of details. The couple of weeks that went by between the last email Jason sent on February 10th, and when I responded on March 4th was to ensure we had the 1,000 signatures before I contacted him again.

I’ve waited and waited, but there’s been zero correspondence since March 4th from Converse, and nothing from the eStore email address that the petition was sent to after the 1,000 signature were reached.

So what’s  the deal Converse? Does our voice not count? Are you seriously going to ignore over 1,000 potential buyers, many who expressed a genuine interest in buying more than one pair?

Notes

I hate to disappoint everyone with this news, and believe me, I would have bought two pairs of Tactical Chucks myself. Between this and the availablity of the recent Vans TNT II shoes we posted about yesterday, I’m irritated that these major shoe companies aren’t taking the tactical community seriously, and thinking it’s just some fad that doesn’t warrant a full production.

So what do you guys think? It’s discouraging to say the least, but I’d love to hear your suggestions on what to do now.