Issues

By Hilary Cassidy
I have been immersed in the world of scooters of late, researching this issueís cover story. I admit to starting out as a scooter skeptic. I have had enough close calls on the sidewalks of New York with young daredevils piloting their Razors and G-Lites to, at times, question the sanity of selling these to six-year-olds with a Jeff Gordon complex. And I have heard the talk among pundits who say that scooters caught on so quickly that they face an equally speedy decline. Hard to know whether their dire predictions stem from actual business acumen, envy or distant memories of the Pet Rock and leg warmers.
However, as I have learned more about the wheeled wonders, I have come to appreciate the impact scooters have made to date and acknowledge their potential. Certainly this is a category in need of stricter management and probably some upgraded consumer marketing and education (someone is buying scooters from the shoe shine guy in Penn Station). But scooters have made their way into the national consciousness. You can see it in everything from the alarmist stories in the media about the dangers of scooter-riding to the debut of a scooter in a recent episode of Sex and the City. If Sarah Jessica Parker thinks youíre coolÑwell, enough said.
Retailers will be challenged to discern where this category will top out and how to manage it going forward. Our cover story looks at the many models of scooters that are being offered, examines the thorny issue of distribution and includes predictions from industry pros as to whether scooters will be part of the landscape for years to come. Of course, no one can say for certain what the future holds. But armed with information, perhaps the crystal ball-gazing gets a little easier.