rollerblade

{{Short description|Brand of inline skates}}

{{about|the company and trademark|the generic skates|inline skates|the songs|Rollerblades (Eliza Doolittle song)|and|Rollerblades (Kwes song)}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Rollerblade

| logo = Rollerblade logo.svg

| logo_size =

| type = Private

| parent = Tecnica Group{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_6_42/ai_99289820/ | work=DSN Retailing Today | title=Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica - Hardlines - Brief Article | year=2013}}

| founder = Scott Olson{{cite web|url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/42/42850.html |title=Rollerblade USA Corp. Company Profile |publisher=Yahoo |access-date=6 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218205412/http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/42/42850.html |archive-date=18 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}

| foundation = Minnesota, incorporated 1982 as Ole's Innovative Sports{{cite book

|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/100greatbusiness0000ross/page/151/mode/1up

|title=100 Great Businesses and the Minds Behind Them

|chapter=Rollerblade - Live your product

|pages=151–155

|location=Naperville, Illinois

|publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc.

|year=2006

|isbn=978-1402206313

|access-date=2024-12-20

|first1=Emily

|last1=Ross

|first2=Angus

|last2=Holland

}}{{cite book

|url=https://archive.org/details/internationaldir0000unse_r5m3

|title=International Directory of Company Histories

|volume=34

|date=2000

|article=Rollerblade, Inc.

|pages=388–392

|location=Detroit

|publisher=St. James Press

|author-first1=Kathleen

|author-last1=Peippo

|author-first2=Nelson

|author-last2=Rhodes

|access-date=2024-12-23

}}

| location_city = West Lebanon, New Hampshire

| caption =

| area_served = Worldwide

| key_people = Rollerblade USA
Jeremy Stonier (Co-President)
Stephen Charrier (Co-President)
Pamela Kidder (CFO)

| industry = Sporting Goods

| products =

| revenue = {{profit}} ~US$ $20 million (2008)

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| assets =

| equity =

| num_employees = 27 (2008)

| subsid =

| homepage = [https://rollerblade.com rollerblade.com]

}}

File:Rollerblade-coyote.JPG

Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Giavera del Montello, Treviso, Italy.{{cite web

| author= U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

| title =Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval

| date= July 15, 1984

| url= http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73491507

| access-date= 2007-02-25

}}{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10B96C953A038830&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Rollerblade: Good things come to those who skate|date=18 July 2005|work=Philadelphia Inquirer|page=C11|access-date=24 January 2012}}

The company was started by Scott Olson (b. 1960) in Minneapolis as Ole's Innovative Sports; when they sold the company, it became Rollerblade, Inc.{{cite web

| author= Lemelson-MIT

| title= Inventor of the Week Archive:Jake golden & Scott & Brennan Olson (spelling corrected per rowbike.com)

| publisher= MIT School of Engineering

| date= August 1997

| url= http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/Inline.html

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030302044906/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/Inline.html

| url-status= dead

| archive-date= 2003-03-02

| access-date= 2007-02-25

}} and has changed hands over time between Nordica, Benetton Group and Tecnica.{{cite web

|author=Skate Log

|title=Benetton Confirms Selling Rollerblade

|date=February 5, 2003

|url=http://www.skatelog.com/products/benetton-sells-rollerblade.htm

|access-date=2007-02-25

}} and {{cite news

|author=DSN Retailing Today via Find Articles

|title=Rollerblade brand skates over to Tecnica

|date=March 24, 2003

|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_6_42/ai_99289820

|access-date=2007-02-25

|work=DSN Retailing Today

}}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.rollerblade.com/about-us/|title=Rollerblade - About Us - en - International|access-date=6 June 2016}}

Rollerblade, Inc. manufactures different types of skates, such as those for aggressive skating, fitness, or recreational use with removable "walkable" liners, as well as adjustable skates for younger users.{{cite web|title=Skates|url=http://www.rollerblade.com/usa/skates/|website=Rollerblade|publisher=Tecnica Group S.p.A|access-date=26 September 2014}}