Nikon Targets New Customers With Rollerblade Sunglasses

Nikon Inc. has just released its first collection of sunglasses under the Rollerblade license. The unit embraces a familiar form among in-line skaters by presenting eight sunglasses against a curved background that is reminiscent of a half-pipe -- the concrete ramp that many skaters, especially extreme skaters, practice on."We wanted to have some action and the half pipe is something that you always relate to skating," says Howard Hyman, marketing manager at Melville, N.Y.-based Nikon.The idea, he says, was to "take a product designed for the in-line skater and [general] sport use, and develop a display with a feeling of Rollerblade." The half-pipe curve is reproduced in Formica-brand Deco-metal, the sides of the case are black acrylic and the top is clear.Designed and produced by Commercial Plastics Corp., Seattle, the display has the same look as many of Rollerblade's displays for in-line skates. "We wanted it to be consistent," says Hyman of the unit now appearing in mass market sporting goods stores, sunglass specialty and outdoor retail stores."Counter space is precious for any retailer," he adds. "So we knew when designing it that the display needed to hold a minimum number of glasses and take up as little space as possible. [At the same time] it needed to clearly show the Rollerblade logo and it needed to lock." The display does all those things."Sunglasses are an interesting category," Hyman says. "It's an impulse item. Sunglasses are the type of product that for the store has one of the highest returns on investment per square foot."Rollerblade sunglasses retail for $59.95. Nikon supplies retailers with the $90 display free of charge. "People really feel that it has the feeling of Rollerblade and that it is very different than other [sunglass displays] out there," says Hyman. "Retailers' reaction so far has been great."Although no plans for revising the display exist now, he says, "based on feedback we get, we'd make whatever possible changes we can. We're always willing to listen to the retailer."

Nikon Targets New Customers With Rollerblade Sunglasses

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