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| < General ~ The Future of Hybrid Skating |
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 Posted:
Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:40 pm
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Museum Curator
Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1476
Location: Central North Dakota, aka The Middle of Nowhere
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This was posted on a flamewar thread and I think it needs its own topic.
| DeezUU wrote: | | Heelys has a stigma of being strictly for little brats knocking over old ladies in the local WalMart. It's just something that seemed to stick from day 1. Unfortunately, their advertising campaigns haven't done a good job of steering the sport elsewhere. The commercials and ads aren't even aimed at young bucks but they don't hold appeal to older 'yutes' for some reason. It's gonna take alot more hardcore action and possibly an underground movement to get older kids and young adults (and even a few old farts) to try the sport out. I know it's out there... it just needs to be put together. There are people with the skills that could push this sport into near mainstream greatness. |
Deez, I think you hit the nail on the head.
Size availability doesn't help either. Selling Heelys has let me know how stark this really is. 1-9, plenty of it- but 10-12, good freakin' luck finding Mega/Plate styles. (Hmm. It used to be just 11 and 12s that had the problem, now it's the 10s as well. Get your 9's while you can, kids!) And Size 13s are STILL butchering each other on Ebay for Predators.
Meanwhile corporate is covering its collective ears and going "La la la, no adult market, no adult market, let's make ugly regular shoes that no one wants instead..."
So, Deez, you're right. If there's any change to be made it's going to have to be made here. By people on this forum. Who else is going to step up to the plate? Mike Staffaroni sure as hell ain't...
I've seen Heelys' third quarter sales figures and they are NOT pretty. Heelys had a metaphorical summer of more than a year, all through '06 and the first half of '07. Now they're entering a long winter that corporate is simply not prepared to weather. They have a large pile of cash, so the dying won't take place immediately in the least- but either we see the beginning of Heelys as a sport and a truly widespread activity, or we eventually see the end of Heelys except for the true die-hards.
Unfortunately, I might have a good handle on the problem, but what we can actually do about it here remains a mystery. IMO we just don't have the manpower. Thoughts?
| Quote: | | IMO, [Heelys] is doing itself a disservice by not allowing competetion. They are staples in the hybrid-skating world and will not be going anywhere but they aren't going to be able to create a revoloution on their own. If respected companies were allowed to build on the concept, the 'kiddie' stigma might be lifted and [Heelys] would most likely benefit. I'm no financial analyst but I've never seen a sport thrive from a sole company. |
Ah, but you see Deez, this is where corporate needs and the sport's needs diverge. Heelys NEEDS its patent. Would YOU sacrifice YOUR legally guaranteed monopoly on a product, just for some nebulous idea of expansion of a sport? "Yeah, I think I'm going to sacrifice ten million dollars of profit, because the sport needs to grow." Not going to happen!
Besides, any twit with a factory and cheap labor can make anything with wheels in the heels, and since it's being sold to kids and their possibly uninformed parents, they could cut as many corners as they want and then we'd be in the "Real Heelys ONLY!" situation we're in today, except without the Crappies weeds not being pulled.
The way things stand, there's just not a parallel to the skate shop, which weeds out the crap by not selling it. The way things stand right now, pretty much ALL the competition would be crap, because the discount shoe stores it'd be sold at would undercut the good ones badly.
Here's a solution: (Gary Martin, are you reading this?)
Heelys should license out their patents and enforce a certain standard of quality. This makes a zero-risk situation for corporate because it's effectively free money from whatever company wants to run with the ball. This might nudge out the Crappies manufacturers to boot, and the stuff Heelys doesn't make (larger size Torches!) will still make them money if someone else manufactures it. Maybe in time the patent holding company (Heelys, Inc) can discontinue production altogether and let the licensees fight it out. |
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Community: We want new Megas!
a finger on the monkey's paw curls: we get them, and they're hideous |
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| Posted:
Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:02 pm
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Heelys Encyclopedia
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 2974
Location: Representing SouthEast
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| *clicks link for size 9 torches! see's theyre at 69$ closes and goes to TSA* |
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H4L&&&&BiGMaC BE MAH BFFLEZ |
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| Posted:
Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:27 pm
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Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 469
Location: Ol' Virginny
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If you're looking for RIGHT NOW, yeah... they'd be crazy to give up patent rights. But just in my whacked out opinion, if there is no sport > the shoe becomes a gimmick and that's only gonna last so long. Sketcher could've made a really positive impact BUT it didn't happen (and now Sketcher has become a mega-store brand which is sad). If companies like Etnie or DVS come out with a hybrid shoe, the product might be more widely taken as serious and Heelys would only benefit > not only by popularity of the type of shoe, but by royalties (you don't think they'd actually GIVE the patent righs away, do ya?!? Lol). You get some people doing some serious tricks and break a few necks in the process.... EVERYONE is gonna have a pair! The skateshop mentality applies in my mind > you don't see many people riding the parks and pipes on store-brand boards. The quality just doesn't hold up so people migrate to the serious brands. Same would go with Heelys. Try riding the parks in a pair of spinners.... you'll be at TSA in 2 weeks looking for a nice pair of Mega's and grind plates.
I'm have no mind for business... I'd most likely run a company into the ground!! Lol. But I do think I know what the people want cause... well, I'm a people and I know people. I've been a person for quite a while. I think I'm pretty good at being a people sometimes. |
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I HAS A SIG! |
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| Posted:
Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:56 pm
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Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 567
Location: Centerville, Ohio
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| I think sizes are the biggest problem for getting older people into it. I cant tell you how many times I've been heeling through my college campus and had people say "Oh I didnt know they made those in adult sizes!" |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:54 am
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Last edited by Marked5th on Tue Apr 05, 2016 3:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:22 pm
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Museum Curator
Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1476
Location: Central North Dakota, aka The Middle of Nowhere
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| Marked5th wrote: | | You don't need to be a company businessman in order to have an effect, you can be the connection between the people and HSL, but it will have more impact if you are an adult, no question about that. |
Depends entirely where you go and who you talk to.
For example, despite ill-crafted laws to the contrary, the Internet knows no age groups if you don't want it to. |
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Community: We want new Megas!
a finger on the monkey's paw curls: we get them, and they're hideous |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:00 pm
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Team Heelys - Northeast
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
Posts: 1803
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| Some posts are just too long to read. |
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[Wed 7:53] Slicer: *looks at Merlyn's finger frenzy score*
[Wed 7:53] Slicer: *face screws up in a combination of amazement and a sort of horror*
[Fri 12:06] IVI4V3R1CK: hey Merlyn, if you don't mind me asking, whys your name yellow?
[Fri 12:07] merlyn_DHC: Because I'm Chinese
[Fri 12:08] merlyn_DHC: (isn't that obvious) ?
[Fri 12:08] IVI4V3R1CK: o.o... thats kinda wrong
[Fri 12:08] merlyn_DHC: HAHAHA
David: Hey RU there ?
H33LYcRaZeD: yeah
David: How things ?
H33LYcRaZeD: thongs arte good
Big Mac: to go to camp quality to give lessons and give away hoes |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:01 pm
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Museum Curator
Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1476
Location: Central North Dakota, aka The Middle of Nowhere
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| tl;dr: If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself. |
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Community: We want new Megas!
a finger on the monkey's paw curls: we get them, and they're hideous |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:03 pm
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Joined: 05 Nov 2007
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Last edited by Marked5th on Tue Apr 05, 2016 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:37 pm
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Heelys Encyclopedia
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 2974
Location: Representing SouthEast
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| merlyn_DHC wrote: | | Some posts are just too long to read. |
agreed. |
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H4L&&&&BiGMaC BE MAH BFFLEZ |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:26 pm
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Joined: 13 Feb 2007
Posts: 221
Location: Austin, TX
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| seth1230™ wrote: | | merlyn_DHC wrote: | | Some posts are just too long to read. |
agreed. |
I wish someone would have told me that before I read the whole thing... |
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I could say somthing funny here, but I'm not going to. |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:33 pm
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Joined: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 32
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It's all marketing. How does the public view Heelys? What view would take Heelys the furthest? How can Heelys sell the most shoes? Who would by them?
Get the trend setters to buy them and you set the trends.
Who are the trend setters? Young adults and adults who want to be young.
Someone above was right. If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.
Look out, HSL. Here we come.... |
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"Everything must be based on a simple idea. Once we have finally discovered it. [it] will be so compelling, so beautiful, that we will say to one another, yes, how could it have been any different." -John Wheeler (1911- ), physicist |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:36 pm
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Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Posts: 164
Location: Austin TX
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The Future is Now
Lolz |
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I like potatoes.
Every respectable person has to Heel once. Because after that they'll never stop!
Tricks: Backwards, Switch. Improving 360, 180 and Crabwalk
Heelys: Torches!
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:46 pm
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Team Heelys - Northeast
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 781
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| MegaHeel wrote: | The Future is Now
Lolz |
i thought the now was present |
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| Posted:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:48 pm
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Team Heelys - Northeast
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
Posts: 1803
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| The future is the present waiting to happen. |
_________________
[Wed 7:53] Slicer: *looks at Merlyn's finger frenzy score*
[Wed 7:53] Slicer: *face screws up in a combination of amazement and a sort of horror*
[Fri 12:06] IVI4V3R1CK: hey Merlyn, if you don't mind me asking, whys your name yellow?
[Fri 12:07] merlyn_DHC: Because I'm Chinese
[Fri 12:08] merlyn_DHC: (isn't that obvious) ?
[Fri 12:08] IVI4V3R1CK: o.o... thats kinda wrong
[Fri 12:08] merlyn_DHC: HAHAHA
David: Hey RU there ?
H33LYcRaZeD: yeah
David: How things ?
H33LYcRaZeD: thongs arte good
Big Mac: to go to camp quality to give lessons and give away hoes |
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