Legend has it that the
first in-line skates date back to the 1700's when a Dutchman attempted to
simulate ice skating by nailing wooden spools to strips of wood attached to his
shoes. In 1863, an American developed the first roller skate with wheels
attached side by side. Soon, the two-by-two wheel formation became the standard
and the in-line skate was quickly forgotten. Versions of the in-line skate
resurfaced periodically, but the concept hadn’t caught on yet. Given the
technology of the time, in-line skates could not be designed to function as well
as conventional roller-skates. By 1930, roller skates had found a permanent
place in society. But it took 29 more years, until 1959, for someone to
mass-produce a metal-wheeled skate. The next significant development came in
1973 when the skate was further improved and popularized by the introduction of
the polyurethane wheel.
In 1980, two hockey-playing Minnesota brothers discovered an
in-line skate while rummaging through a sporting goods store and decided that
this design would make an ideal off-season hockey-training tool. They refined
the skate and began assembling the first Rollerblade skates in the basement of
their parents' Minneapolis home. It was that same year, when they founded the
company that would become Rollerblade®.
Hockey players were soon turning heads as they glided down
Minnesota roads in the summer. Nordica and Alpine skiers were also quick to
adapt Rollerblade skates to their training regimens. Business grew during the
early 80's, but the in-line skate market was undeveloped and limited
geographically. Strategic marketing efforts were introduced in the mid-80's to
position in-line skating as a new sport, and grass roots marketing tactics were
employed in Miami Beach, FL, Minneapolis, MN, and Venice Beach, CA.
Through the middle 80's to late 80's, direct sales were
eliminated as Rollerblade sought distribution through sporting goods retailers.
As the 80's came to a close, Rollerblade expanded the market further through
in-line skating events, competitions, and other activities specific to the
sport; including the new trend of aggressive skating. In addition, traditional
marketing tactics and an aggressive public relations plan catapulted skating
into the mainstream.
In the early 90's, international distribution was first
realized with the establishment of several distributorships. Also, in 1991
Nordica, a member of the Benetton Group, purchased a 50% stake in the company.
Cross-promotions with major consumer product companies gave credibility to the
market and publicity for the sport was at an all-time high as popularity soared
and participation grew faster than any sport in history.
The 90's were filled with further expansion of the market and industry, which
was spurred by great strides in skate technology. Lighter, stronger materials,
lower pricing, and technologies such as the revolutionary ABT® brake, continued
making skating more accessible to people of all ages, and athletic ability.
