Rollerblade
 | |
| Private, parent company Tecnica Group[1] | |
| Industry | Sporting Goods[2] |
| Founded | Minnesota, incorporated 1982 as Ole's Innovative Sports[3] |
| Founder |
Brennan Olson Scott Olson[2] |
| Headquarters | West Lebanon, New Hampshire[2] |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
Rollerblade USA Jeremy Stonier(Co-President) Stephen Charrier(Co-President) Pamela Kidder(CFO)[2] |
| Revenue |
 US$ Estimated $20 million (2008)[2] |
Number of employees | 27 (2008)[2] |
| Website | Rollerblade.com |
Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Giavera del Montello, Treviso, Italy.[4][5]
The company was started by Scott Olson (b. 1960) and Brennan Olson (b. 1964) in Minneapolis as Ole's Innovative Sports; when they sold the company, it became Rollerblade, Inc.[6] and has changed hands over time between Nordica, Benetton Group and Tecnica.[7]
Even though the long established Roces company was the first to manufacture in-line skates in 1981,[8] their distribution was limited to Italy and Central Europe for the first few years, allowing Rollerblade to capitalize and grab a huge percentage of the world market share and almost total dominance of the North American market with their aggressive advertising campaigns and sponsored in-line-only sporting events.[9] For the first few years after Rollerblade was formed they were the only manufacturer of in-line skates that had worldwide distribution. The company manufactures different types of skates, such as those for aggressive skating, fitness, or urban use with removable "walkable" liners.[10]
References
- ↑ "Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica - Hardlines - Brief Article". DSN Retailing Today. 2003.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/42/42850.html
- ↑ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Rollerblade-Inc-Company-History.html
- ↑ U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Filed July 15, 1984). "Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval". Retrieved 2007-02-25. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Rollerblade: Good things come to those who skate". Philadelphia Inquirer. 18 July 2005. p. C11. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ Lemelson-MIT (August 1997). "Inventor of the Week Archive:Jake golden & Scott & Brennan Olson (spelling corrected per rowbike.com)". MIT School of Engineering. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ http://www.roces.com/
- ↑ http://www.rollerblade.com/about-us/
- ↑ "Skates". Rollerblade. Tecnica Group S.p.A. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
External links
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