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Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP - The company whose name is synonymous with in- line skating wants people to know that the activity isn't just fun; it's good for physical fitness, too.

Officials at Hamilton Township-based Rollerblade are hoping the company's emphasis on fitness will help it expand beyond its core customer base of young people.

Today, people who were trying in-line skating during its heyday in the 1980s and '90s are entering their 40s and 50s, according to Jeremy Stonier, Rollerblade's vice president and general manager.

"People in their 40s and 50s are now willing to use it as a fitness activity because they are comfortable with it," Stonier said.

The Mercer County company is sponsoring in-line skating marathons, school programs and free skating lessons to promote its claim that the activity burns as many calories as running or bicycling, but with less impact and shock to joints.

Stonier said 2004 was the company's most profitable year since 1998. Rollerblade, celebrating its 25th year, is on track for a 10 percent sales increase in 2005, he said.

Rollerblade, a subsidiary of Italian sporting goods manufacturer Tecnica Group, has about 15 workers at the Hamilton Township offices it has occupied since 2004. Skates are designed in Italy, manufactured in East Asia and distributed out of New Hampshire.

Rollerblade says its emphasis on physical fitness is designed to reverse a decline in the sport's popularity since the late 1990s.

It's a strategy reflected in the story of Scott Olson, a hockey- playing Minnesotan who founded the company in 1980.

Olson, 46, who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Waconia, says he gave up in-line skating for seven to eight years as he concentrated on projects such as rowing-propelled bikes and penguin lawn ornaments. He started skating again a year ago after a local television station asked him to lace up.

"I finally dug up an old pair at my house and skated around for them for about 10 minutes, but boy, I was going through a whole lot of hurt. I decided maybe I should start doing this again more often," Olson said.

The activity reached its peak in 1998, when 32 million Americans over 6 said they had tried in-line skating at least once during the year, but the novelty started to wear off. By 2004, only 17.3 million had tried in-line skating during the past year, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.

Sales in the industry reflected the trend. In 2003, manufacturers sold $145 million worth of in-line skating equipment in the United States, down 30.3 percent from $208 million in 2002.

Stonier, who took over as general manager in 2003, acknowledges that Rollerblade itself has struggled. Back in 1999, the company said it had a market share of only about 30 percent, about half of what it claims now.

Those were the years that the company was under the control of Italian apparel firm Benetton Group, which moved the company's headquarters from Minnesota to New Jersey offices in Bordentown in 1999.

"It just wasn't the greatest of fits, literally," Stonier said. "It was a company focused on clothes and other items that wasn't as interested in sporting goods."

Even during the Benetton era, Rollerblade started to go back to basics, concentrating on user-friendly innovations.

Rollerblade skates now boast such features as laces that tie with a drawstring pulled in the back and children's boots that adjust in size with a push of a button for growing feet or possibly another friend or sibling who wants to try them out.

Out of its 33 models, Rollerblade still has skates with names such as Lightning and Aero that are geared for both fitness and thrill-seeking, as well as its Team Rollerblade Series for stunt skaters. The company also has models such as the Zetrablade that are tailored for beginners looking for a workout.

Company officials say business took off when Tecnica took over in 2003. Tecnica's top executive, Giancarlo Zanatta, has a keen interest in innovation, setting up an in-line skate design facility in Trevignano, Italy.

"All the shackles came off with the transition to Tecnica. They said, 'Tell us what it should be, and we'll make it better,'-" Stonier said.

Company officials say efforts are starting to pay off: The company has been able to double its market share to about 60 percent in the past five years. Rollerblade has been able to maintain worldwide sales at about 2 million skates per year, about $100 million worth, with half the skates sold in the United States, Stonier said.