They’re selling like it, too. This new breed of collapsible scooters, which include models like Razor, Micro, Kickboard and Xootr, is sending trendsetters of all ages out to the streets. Driven by the new models’ sleek looks and portability, even adults are hopping on. Sales are growing too quickly for precise projections, but experts expect sales of anywhere from 2 million to 5 million units this year–and with prices starting at $99, that makes this at least a $200 million business. On both coasts and in big cities, retailers tell of kids carrying in bags of hoarded coins or signing over birthday checks from Grandma to get a Razor. They see parents, sensing rare leverage, horse-trading with kids in store aisles before pulling out the Visa (“You promise to mow and take out the garbage?”). “Some mornings kids are waiting for the store to open,” says James O’Gara, a Sharper Image salesman in Newport Beach, Calif., who claims to have personally sold 8,000 scooters.
The new wheels are a far cry from the homemade scooters, often constructed from orange crates and roller skates, which ruled the mid-20th century. Today’s models, made of aluminum with small urethane wheels, originated in the mid-1990s in Europe, where clogged streets and limited parking provide incentives for inventors to dream up efficient transportation. The new designs immigrated to Asia early last year, and caught the eye of U.S. retailers at a bicycle trade show in Taiwan. As the scooter took off in Australia and Japan, U.S. companies began placing orders. By last fall Sharper Image was hawking the Razor Stateside, while Huffy pushed Micros (key difference: a slightly larger platform to accommodate big American feet). Both brands are built in the same Chinese bicycle factory, which is under pressure from American retailers to boost output. Those two brands still dominate, but copycats and more upscale versions (some with three wheels) are flourishing. After months of shortages, big scooter sellers (including Sharper Image and Toys “R” Us, along with specialty Web sites) say they’re now meeting demand, although megaretailers like Costco and Wal-Mart can’t keep shelves full.
Hot-selling toys are nothing new, but the scooters are becoming a rare crossover hit: they’re not just for kids. Typical is Mat Boggs, a 22-year-old University of Oregon grad student. He hoped to cut down on the 15-minute walk to campus, but didn’t want to bother parking a bike. So he drove 100 miles to Portland to buy a Razor; now he scoots to class in three minutes flat. Karl Ulrich, an operations professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, sees adult riders as such a desirable market that he’s taken a leave from teaching to run a company selling three models of upscale Xootrs (prices start at $260). His company will sell 35,000 this year, mostly to the demographic he calls “urban hipsters”; he hopes to move several hundred thousand units in 2001.
Like novices trying out the last big recreational fad, in-line skates, scooter riders face some risks. Taking a break during a ride in Central Park, Martin Azzopardi, 11, sports two ugly scabs, painful souvenirs from his tumble on a friend’s Razor. (It could be worse: one of his pals dislocated an arm and broke a leg.) Experts offer mixed reviews of scooter safety. Last year 3,281 people visited emergency rooms after falling off nonmotorized scooters, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission; most suffered facial injuries, cuts, bruises or broken bones. But most parents and doctors say scooters are safer than bikes, skateboards or in-line skates. Why? Lower speeds, handlebars (which make them stabler than skateboards) and low platforms that let riders hop to safety if a crash seems imminent. Doctors say to wear helmets, wrist guards and kneepads, and to avoid riding in traffic, but otherwise they applaud this mode of transportation. “Anything that gets kids away from Nintendo and TV and the computer and gets them outside is very good,” says Darien, Ill., pediatrician Garry Gardner.
Retailers, who’ve already ordered scads of scooters for the holidays, are more worried about the craze’s longevity. “That’s the question: how high will it go and how long will it last?” says Bill Smith, VP at Huffy Bicycles. Despite fears that scooters are just the latest fad, many experts see signs of staying power. Unlike Pokemon, scooters are actually useful, and it’s not just kids who are buying them. “If it’s moving beyond twentysomethings, it’s a very clear indication it has legs,” says Martin G. Letscher, a marketing consultant who’s studied the evolution of recreation goods like Rollerblades. Still, in a market where last year’s toys are faint memories–anyone remember Furby?–sustaining consumer interest can be an uphill battle. “Kids have a much shorter attention span today–that’s our biggest challenge,” says Jon Roman, a buyer at Toys “R” Us. Parents like Marian Jacobson of Chicago, who bought a Razor for daughter Sarah’s 8th birthday last week, don’t seem too worried about kids’ losing interest. “It’ll gather less dust than her Rollerblades,” she says, because it’s so convenient. If she’s wrong, there’s one small consolation. Like Dad’s treadmill and Mom’s NordicTrack, scooters have handlebars. So they’ll make great laundry racks if, like so many of yesterday’s must-haves, they take a permanent parking spot in the basement.
