An official of American shoe and apparel brand Converse yesterday urged consumers to examine carefully the Converse shoes that are being sold at a cheaper price because they may turn out to be an imitation of the brand.

Ruedas pointed out that Converse's long line of Chuck Taylor sneakers is one of the most imitated shoes.

Among the indicators, Ruedas said, is the thickness of the sole and the elasticity of the shoe.

"If the sole is thinner than the original, it's fake. If you fold the shoe and it happens to fold easily from end to end, it's fake," he said. The first outlet of Converse in Bacolod City opened its doors to the public yesterday at the Robinson's Place-Bacolod.

The opening of the shop, part of the company's expansion efforts in the Visayas, hopes to cater to fashion-conscious basketball enthusiasts and followers of the Chuck Taylor sneakers, regional sales manager Carmen Co said.

The Bacolod outlet is owned by Benjamin Ko and his children, Christopher, Steve and Cathy Co-Yao.

Aside from new "Chuck Taylor" designs, Co said they are also promoting the basketball shoes, Wade 2, named after Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade, the NBA Finals MVP last year.

Co noted that Converse is the best-selling shoe company in a survey of all Shoe Mart outlets nationwide last year with the "Chuck Taylor" off-white and optic-white pairs as its brand drivers. *CPT

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