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Here are the latest inventory updates. . .

Driftr Skates – We just received a new batch, and all sizes are now back in stock. This is a high top quad with a very black look. The boots and wheels are both solid black and it gives this a good look. We also have the Spinr skates in stock, which is the newer version of the Rewind black high top that was so popular.

We are expecting a new shipment of the GT50 skates later today or possibly tomorrow (Feb 5). We don’t have all the details yet on this shipment, but hopefully this will get us all sizes of the black GT50 for the first time in a long time.

We are also expecting a big shipment of Vanilla Junior skates very soon. We don’t have any firm details on this one yet as far as exactly what we’ll be receiving, but several weeks ago they indicated that this would be a big shipment that should fill most of the holes in our inventory. As soon as we know more on this we’ll let everyone know.

On each of these shipments, the first priority will be to fill the existing backorders. Then we will open them up to existing customers that want to place new orders.

While roller skating is a perpetual classic, there’s no denying that some moments in skating history are bigger than others… Like the roller skating trend that has taken TikTok by storm for the past year! A young, tech-savvy generation of skaters has taken the sport from their local skating rinks and sidewalks to screens all over the world thanks to social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. This roller skating resurgence has not only sparked renewed interest in skating but has even powered a boom in roller skate sales. But are you taking the best advantage possible of this trend to help you market your skating rink? 

Don’t miss out on this silver lining of the pandemic; learn how to harness the roller skating trend with these skating rink marketing tips.

How to Capitalize on the Roller Skating Trend to Market Your Skating Rink

Get on TikTok and Instagram.

You can’t join a party if you’re not where the party is. To get the most out of the skating trend, your skating rink needs a social media presence on TikTok and Instagram. Facebook still has a place in online marketing, but in order to reach a youth demographic, you need to meet them on their turf.  

Create fun content. 

One of the biggest obstacles most family entertainment centers cite for not marketing via social media is that it’s hard to come up with enough quality content. It’s a real concern, as it can be a full-time job just coming up with ideas! But that’s what is so great about using TikTok for business: The ideas are built-in! 

Part of what makes TikTok so popular is that it’s all about putting your own spin on existing trends. You don’t have to be super creative to succeed—you can just add your own twist to the latest dance trend or meme. By creating fun, engaging content, you can also get potential customers interested in your events or drive sales of those trendy skates in your pro shop.

Try teaming up with a micro-influencer. 

We’ve all heard of “influencers”—social media celebrities with massive followings who make a living off of product placement, with brands sometimes paying over half a million dollars for a single post from big names like Kylie Jenner or Dwayne Johnson. Of course, for most of us FEC owners, that kind of exposure is out of reach… But it’s also unnecessary. Instead, consider working with micro-influencers or nano-influencers. These smaller influencers don’t have nearly the reach, but the great thing is that you can likely find—and afford—a micro-influencer in your area. Micro-influencers may have anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 followers, while nano-influencers have less than 1,000. But the followers they do have are usually a very specific group of people. These are just a few ideas to help you find micro-influencers to promote your skating rink:

• Local or regional bloggers, especially “mommy bloggers”
• Local media personalities like news anchors, sports broadcasters, or radio hosts
• Local celebrities like city council members, pastors, or community leaders
• Local musicians, actors, or creatives

How are you harnessing the popularity of roller skating to market your skating rink? Get creative and feel free to share your ideas!

Pacer’s Vintage rentals just arrived.  They are in sizes 12 Jr through 12 adult.  The Vintage Rental has retro graphics and a very traditional design.  The price is also very retro, and will be competitive with any rental out there, even the used ones some vendors are selling.

 

At a great low price per pair these are a great way to spruce up your rental fleet with brand new skates just as people are starting to come back out of the lockdown.  These skates are an excellent way to create a good impression with customers you haven’t seen in a long time.

Here is a recap of some of the new skates that have been released recently.

The Ella is a quad adjustable youth skate. It is very similar to the Lucy skate, but with a design that matches the Donut Skate Bags, with donuts and unicorns on them. The small fits sizes 12J-2 and the medium fits sizes 3-6. Both sizes are in stock now.

The Fame skates are now coming in three new colors: blue, pink, and yellow. The yellow version is available with indoor or outdoor wheels, the blue and pink are (so far) in outdoor wheels. Each of these are in stock now, but we’re starting to get low on some of the blue sizes.

Rollr Grl (or Roller Girl) is a line of skates for the Pacer brand that is similar to the Candi Girl line from Roller Derby. These should not be sold in the big box stores.

The Rollr Grl Astra is similar to the Candi Girl 774 skates in quality and price. The Astra comes in gold or silver with a sparkle look to the boots. These are in stock now, sizes 4-11 in either color.

The Rollr Grl Lilly is similar to the Candi Girl 772 in quality and price. They come with a fade pattern on the boots, so one is blue/pink and the other is mint/purple. The first batch has already sold out, but we have more on order and hope to get replenished soon.

The Rollr Grl Spinner skates are similar to the Candi Girl Rewind. It is a simple basic black high top skate in sizes 3-12, in stock now.

The Rollr Grl Driftr is a step up from the Spinner, but is also a solid black high top with a very black look to it. The first batch is almost sold out on this one, but we’re hoping to get more to replenish the inventory soon.

The Aero is an old school basic quad speed skate with a cinch strap, aluminum metal plate, and black wheels. This is in stock now, sizes 4-12. A lot of rinks have said this is a good value for session skaters.

The Glidr is a high top sneaker skate from Roller Derby that is now in stock. It comes in three color schemes.
white – with a little bit of black – sizes 4-13
white with teal – sizes 4-11
white, red, teal, and black – sizes 4-12

Personal style and fashion have always been a part of roller skating culture, but today, there are more options than ever before to help you express your individual style on the skating rink. Skate manufacturers like Rollr Grl, Sure-Grip, and Vanilla have been putting out a steady stream of fashion-influenced quad skates that reflect the latest trends, from pastel colors to glitter finishes. But before you could find stylish skates in just about any material, color, and cut you could possibly want, skaters still found ways to trick out their skates. If you’re looking for ways to personalize and accessorize roller skates, we’ve got the inspiration you need. 

5 Ways to Accessorize Roller Skates

Boot or Toe Covers

Boot covers are stretchy fabric items that, as the name implies, cover your skate boots (the part your foot goes in). They protect your skates from wear and tear, keeping them clean and un-scuffed… Plus, they come in all sorts of fun colors and patterns, so you can definitely find some that fit your personal style. Polka dots, dinosaurs, unicorns and rainbows, zombies, you name it—there’s probably a boot cover version available on Etsy.     

Toe covers serve a similar function. They are typically made from suede or PU (pleather/vegan leather) and protect the toe of your skate boot from scuffs and scratches. 

Wheels

Skate wheels come in different sizes and hardnesses, and the right wheels for you depend partly on practical concerns like whether you’ll be skating indoors or outdoors, your size, and what type of skating you do. But when it comes to indoor skating at a skating rink, there are some fun wheel options that can spice up your skates. Bright colors, bold patterns, and glow-in-the-dark finishes are easy to find. Want to turn the awesome up to 11? Opt for light-up skate wheels that stand out on a dark skate floor. 

Laces

One of the easiest ways to change the look of your skates is to replace the laces. There are glitter laces, ombre laces, and much more to choose from. In addition to the laces themselves, you can ornament your skates with decorative lace locks or charms. You can even buy decorative wings (take your pick of bat, butterfly, or angel) that lace onto your skates.

Pom Poms

Another classic roller skate accessory is pompoms! Fluffy, colorful pompoms are a fun way to add personality to your skates, and can easily be changed out with the season or your mood.

Lights

As we mentioned above, light-up skate wheels are a great way to stand out on the skate floor and draw attention to your fancy footwork. But wheels aren’t the only place to light up! You can also install color-changing LED lights beneath your skates for a cool underlighting effect. There are even lighted toe stops. 

A new year is just around the corner, and with it comes the possibility for fresh starts, new approaches, and brighter days. With that in mind, why not try a new approach to your skating rink marketing in the coming months? Many folks are making New Year’s resolutions, so it’s an opportune time to promote the health and fitness benefits of roller skating. Check out these skating rink marketing ideas below, and let us know if you have any fresh and creative ideas to share!

Skating Rink Marketing: It’s All About Fun and Fitness

Customer Education

Because roller skating is fun and social, most people think of it as mere entertainment. But it’s so much more! Reach new customers and reinvigorate existing customers by educating the public on the many fitness benefits of roller skating. There are plenty of ways to do this, including: 

• Hanging informational posters around your facility
• Sharing infographics on your social media channels
• Giving interviews with local media about the fitness aspect of roller skating
• Writing about the fitness benefits of skating on your blog or in your email newsletter
• Placing table cards with skating fitness information in your snack bar area.

Cross Promotion

Another great marketing strategy is to team up with another business or organization in your area for a cross-promotion campaign. For instance, you could offer a discount to members of local fitness clubs in exchange for them promoting you to their members. 

You could also work with your town’s YMCA, recreation department, or school district to create an awareness program and get people to try skating for fitness. Offer to make appearances to talk about the health benefits of skating, or give a demonstration to show some ways to get an even better workout while skating. 

Is there a local yoga studio or CrossFit gym that you can invite to host an event at your rink? Doing so will expose a whole new group of people to your business, giving you the opportunity to create some new regulars. 

Classes and Bootcamps

One way to cater to fitness-focused customers is to add some classes to your regular skating sessions. In addition to the usual beginner, intermediate, speed skating, and/or artistic skating classes, consider offering a roller skating aerobics class, a “mommy and me” skating class, or incorporating skating games to get skaters’ heart rates up.  

Many people don’t realize the possibilities with roller skating, so you may also need to do some awareness marketing to let people in your community know that there are alternatives to tee-ball, soccer, CrossFit, and spin class. Roller skating classes, speed skating leagues, competitive artistic skating clubs, and roller derby leagues are the undiscovered jewels of recreation and fitness, just waiting for folks to discover the fun!

The Aero skates from Roller Derby are now in stock.  This is a classic looking black quad speed skate with a metal plate.  Sizes 4-12 are in stock.

We received a good shipment of the GTX500 skates and now have the black skates available in all sizes for the first time in a long time.

 

The Spinner skates from Pacer have arrived.  This is a very traditional looking black high-top skate very similar to the popular Rewind (at the same price).  Sizes 3-12 are in stock.

We received a small shipment of the Boardwalk skates.  We now have Blue in sizes 5-9, red in sizes 6-9, and purple size 6 in stock.  These are outdoor skates, they’ve been incredibly hard to find, we’re not sure how long they will last.  If the cold weather doesn’t keep people from buying outdoor skates, they might not be here long.

 

We are expecting a Vanilla Junior shipment, but it has been delayed at the port.  They are in the country, they’re off the boat, but it does NOT look like these will get here before Christmas.  We know a lot of people are wanting these, as soon as we know more, we will let you know.  But it doesn’t look like we’ll have them in time to get them to rinks before Christmas.

 

There is a new quad skate from Roller Derby that should be here soon called the Glidr.  The boot on these looks like a high-top basketball shoe and it will come in three different color schemes.  We do NOT have these yet, but they should be here soon.  The solid white version will be sizes 4-13, white with red in sizes 4-12, white with teal sizes 4-11.

The Aero skate and the Driftr skate are both now in stock.  The Aero is a very traditional quad speed skate with a metal plate.  The Driftr is a solid black skate from the new Rollr Girl line (similar to the Candi Girl).  Both are priced the same as the U774 Candi Girl Carlin.

We have two shipments from Sure-Grip on the way, hopefully early next week.  We’re expecting to get more Boardwalk, GT50, and the new pink Fame skates in those shipments.

 

We do have bad news on the Vanilla Junior skates.  That shipment has been held up at the port.  It is still on the way, but the earliest we can hope for these now will be VERY close to Christmas before they arrive here.

As we approach the last few weeks before Christmas, supplies are still pretty limited, but hopefully getting better. Here are some updates that might be helpful as we try to get supplies out for the Christmas rush.

We received two different shipments from Sure-Grip earlier this week. The Malibu skates are now in stock (all sizes) for the first time in a long time. The blue Fame skates arrived, and we still have the yellow Fame skates. The blue ones have outdoor wheels, the yellow have indoor or outdoor wheels (you pick). We received a few of the black Cyclone skates, which can be a good substitute for someone wanting the GT50 skates (which are pretty limited right now).

We have a shipment from Sure-Grip on the way that should arrive about Dec 10. This one will have some Boardwalk skates in there, but we aren’t sure yet what color or sizes will be coming.

We received several new skates from Roller Derby. The Ella is real similar to the Lucy skate, but with a design that matches the popular donut skate bags. The Astra is similar to the U774 Candi Girl, with a silver or gold glitter design. The Lilly is similar to the U772 Candi Girl skates, but with a fade design on the boot. One version is blue and pink, the other is mint and purple. Each of these are in stock now in large quantities.

Roller Derby also has a skate called the Drifter that is similar to the U774 skates, but in solid black and men’s sizing. This shipped to us several weeks ago, and should have arrived mid November, but the trucking company has messed up and delayed this thing for quite a while. It is currently expected early next week (Dec 7) but we are certainly not promising that considering all of the delays it has already experienced. Plus there is a second big shipment from Roller Derby we just found out about. We’re not sure what’s on that one yet, but it should also arrive around Dec 7. Once we know more on either of these we’ll be sure to let everyone know.

Vanilla’s new Renegade quad speed skates are in stock now. We have almost all sizes (red size 6 sold out very quickly) in blue, red, yellow, or pink. This is a great looking skate for the Vanilla fans. Right now most sizes of the Junior skates are sold out, but a big shipment is expected any day now. If you have customers looking for the Junior skates for Christmas please get these on order ahead of time so that you’ll be on the list to receive some once they arrive.

This year has been a great example of the saying, “Time flies whether you’re having fun or not.” 2020 has been a challenging year in many ways, which may be why people are so much more excited for the holidays to arrive. After all, who among us couldn’t use an extra dose of Christmas cheer or holiday sparkle after months spent stuck at home and isolated from loved ones? Fortunately, the year hasn’t been all bad… At least we have roller skating TikTok to keep us entertained, and some awesome new skates to put a smile on your favorite skater’s face. Keep reading for our roller skating gift guide to help you play Santa this season!

The Best Holiday Gifts for Roller Skaters

Deck the halls and let the good times roll, because roller skating is more popular than ever and it’s here to stay. Whether you’re shopping for a die-hard rink rat or an eager newbie, these holiday skating gifts are sure to put you on the “nice” list. 

A sturdy and stylish skate bag

Tying the laces together and slinging a skate over your shoulder is one way to transport them… But for the sake of the skates (and your back), a skate bag is the way to go. There are plenty of styles of skate bags to choose from, so you can pick the perfect one for the roller skater on your list. Make sure it will fit the style of skates they have—depending on how spacious or tailored the bag is, it may or may not be able to fit certain types of skates. For example, the higher boot of an artistic skate won’t fit in the compact bag of a low-cut speed skate.   

Useful roller skating stuff

When it comes to stocking stuffers, any skater will love a stocking full of useful roller skating stuff, like a skate tool, bearings cleaning kit and lubricant, toe stops, etc.  

Fun skating accessories

Stocking stuffers shouldn’t all be practical. There are plenty of fun roller skating-related goodies to add to the mix, like colorful laces, fun socks, light-up wheels, pom poms, and more. 

New skates, obviously!

Yes, we’re skating—or rather stating—the obvious, but any skater would be thrilled to get a fancy new set of roller skates from Santa. We’ve received a big shipment of new quad roller skates, including glittery Rollr Grl Astras in gold/black/clear and silver/black/mint and some incredible Rollr Grl Lilly skates in pink/mint ombre and lavender/mint ombre.   

Roller skating lessons or admission

Last, but not least, support your local skating rink! Roller skating lessons are an amazing gift for new skaters or skaters who want to learn how to take their skills to the next level. You can also give a gift certificate for skating rink admission. Combining a physical gift like skates with an experience like skating lessons makes for the perfect, memorable gift that they’ll remember for years to come. Shop small and shop local on Small Business Saturday, and every day!