Through its shoes, Converse developed into an iconic brand, and came to be seen as the essential sports shoe. In the 1970s, Converse purchased the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers from B.F. Goodrich.
Converse lost much of its apparent near-monopoly from the 1970s onward, with the surge of new competitors, including Puma and Adidas, then Nike, then a decade later Reebok, who introduced radical new designs to the sports market. Converse found themselves no longer the official shoe of the National Basketball Association, a title they had relished for many years.
The chevron and star insignia — a logo that remains on a large portion of Converse footwear other than the All Star — was created by Jim Labadini, an employee.
Canvas-rubber shoes regained popularity in the 1980s as casual footwear, but Converse eventually became over-dependent on the "All Stars" brand, whose market collapsed by 1989-1990 as America entered a severe economic depression and the icons of the decade were subject to a wide backlash. By the second half of the 1990s, Converse was slipping repeatedly into receivership as debt piled up yearly, and its products were rejected by consumers in an increasingly competitive environment.