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Rollerblade

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]

External links

References

  1. Rollerblade USA Corp. Company Profile Yahoo, retrieved 6 June 2016^
  2. Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica - Hardlines - Brief Article DSN Retailing Today, 2013^
  3. Emily Ross, Angus Holland. 100 Great Businesses and the Minds Behind Them Sourcebooks, Inc., 2006, retrieved 2024-12-20^
  4. International Directory of Company Histories St. James Press, 2000, retrieved 2024-12-23^
  5. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval July 15, 1984, retrieved 2007-02-25^
  6. Rollerblade: Good things come to those who skate Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 July 2005, retrieved 24 January 2012^
  7. Lemelson-MIT. Inventor of the Week Archive:Jake golden & Scott & Brennan Olson (spelling corrected per rowbike.com) MIT School of Engineering, August 1997, retrieved 2007-02-25^
  8. Ross Bernstein. More... Frozen Memories: Celebrating a Century of Minnesota Hockey Nodin Press, 2007, retrieved 2024-12-24^
  9. Voices of Minnesota: Interview with Scott Olson (Part 1 of 3) Minnesota Public Radio, 1995-07-31, retrieved 2024-12-25^
  10. Voices of Minnesota: Interview with Scott Olson (Part 2 of 3) Minnesota Public Radio, 1995-07-31, retrieved 2024-12-25^
  11. and Skate Log. Benetton Confirms Selling Rollerblade February 5, 2003, retrieved 2007-02-25 DSN Retailing Today via Find Articles. Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica DSN Retailing Today, March 24, 2003, retrieved 2007-02-25^
  12. Rollerblade - About Us - en - International retrieved 6 June 2016^
  13. Skates Rollerblade, Tecnica Group S.p.A, retrieved 26 September 2014^