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Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Brand of inline skates This article is about the company and trademark. For the generic skates, see inline skates. For the songs, see Rollerblades (Eliza Doolittle song) and Rollerblades (Kwes song). Rollerblade[1]

Company type	Private
Industry	Sporting Goods[1]
Founded	Minnesota, incorporated 1982 as Ole's Innovative Sports[2][3]
Headquarters	West Lebanon, New Hampshire[1]
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Rollerblade USAJeremy Stonier (Co-President)Stephen Charrier (Co-President)Pamela Kidder (CFO)[1]
Revenue	~US$ $20 million (2008)[1]
Number of employees	27 (2008)[1]
Parent	Tecnica Group[4]
Website	rollerblade.com

Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Giavera del Montello, Treviso, Italy.[5][6]

The company started as Ole's Innovative Sports, created by Scott Olson in Minneapolis, and operated in his family basement and employed his brothers, chiefly Brennan Olson. The company eventually became Rollerblade, Inc.[7][8][9][10] The company changed hands over time between Nordica, Benetton Group and Tecnica.[11]

Inline-skates had been used for many years by ice speed skaters before they became mainstream. For the first few years after Rollerblade was developed, Rollerblade, Inc. were the only manufacturer of in-line skates that had worldwide distribution. This allowed the company to capitalize and grab a huge percentage of the world market share and almost total dominance of the North American market with aggressive advertising campaigns and sponsored in-line-only sporting events.[12] The term "rollerblades" has become a generic trademark for inline skates in general.

Rollerblade, Inc. manufactures different types of skates, such as those for aggressive skating (aimed at jumps, tricks, and use at skate parks), fitness, or recreational use with removable "walkable" liners, as well as adjustable skates for younger users.[13]

References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f "Rollerblade USA Corp. Company Profile". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
2. ^ Ross, Emily; Holland, Angus (2006). "Rollerblade - Live your product". 100 Great Businesses and the Minds Behind Them. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. pp. 151–155. ISBN 978-1402206313. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
3. ^ Peippo, Kathleen; Rhodes, Nelson (2000). "Rollerblade, Inc.". International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 34. Detroit: St. James Press. pp. 388–392. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
4. ^ "Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica - Hardlines - Brief Article". DSN Retailing Today. 2013.
5. ^ U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (July 15, 1984). "Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval". Retrieved 2007-02-25.
6. ^ "Rollerblade: Good things come to those who skate". Philadelphia Inquirer. 18 July 2005. p. C11. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
7. ^ Lemelson-MIT (August 1997). "Inventor of the Week Archive:Jake golden & Scott & Brennan Olson (spelling corrected per rowbike.com)". MIT School of Engineering. Archived from the original on 2003-03-02. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
8. ^ Bernstein, Ross (2007). "In-Line Hockey In Minnesota". More... Frozen Memories: Celebrating a Century of Minnesota Hockey. Minneapolis, Minn.: Nodin Press. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-1932472493. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
9. ^ Paula Schroeder (host) (1995-07-31). Voices of Minnesota: Interview with Scott Olson (Part 1 of 3) (audio). Minnesota: Minnesota Public Radio. Transcript 1/3 in PDF (PDF). Retrieved 2024-12-25.
10. ^ Paula Schroeder (host) (1995-07-31). Voices of Minnesota: Interview with Scott Olson (Part 2 of 3) (audio). Minnesota: Minnesota Public Radio. Transcript 2/3 in PDF (PDF). Retrieved 2024-12-25.
11. ^ Skate Log (February 5, 2003). "Benetton Confirms Selling Rollerblade". Retrieved 2007-02-25. and DSN Retailing Today via Find Articles (March 24, 2003). "Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica". DSN Retailing Today. Retrieved 2007-02-25.[permanent dead link]
12. ^ "Rollerblade - About Us - en - International". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
13. ^ "Skates". Rollerblade. Tecnica Group S.p.A. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

External links

[edit]

• Rollerblade official web site

v t e Tecnica Group S.p.A.
Subsidiaries	Blizzard Lowa Moon Boot Nordica Rollerblade Tecnica

v t e Inline skating
Disciplines	Aggressive inline skating Vert skating Artistic roller skating Freestyle slalom skating Inline figure skating Inline hockey Inline speed skating Nordic cross skating Roller soccer Street hockey Urban skating
Equipment	Bearing Frame History Inline skates Tuning Types Wheel Wheel setup
Manufacturers	Bauer CCM K2 Sports Mission Hockey Roller Derby Rollerblade
Related sports	Roller skiing Roller sports Freeskating Roller hockey (quad) Roller skating (quad)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rollerblade&oldid=1304271485" Categories:

• Brands that became generic
• Roller skates
• Tecnica Group
• American inventions
• Products introduced in 1982

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