Industry News:

Back in the Skate Business
Inline and quad skates return to Skates on Haight

By Planet staff
Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007

Inline skates are back on the shelves at Skates on Haight in San Francisco.

The store removed both inline and quad skates from its inventory in 2005 in the face of slumping sales and reinvented itself as a skateboard shop.

But owner Lee Cole, emboldened by the success of his online business, Skates.com, has brought skates back to the shop that he opened 30 years ago.

The store at 1818 Haight Street is no longer at the center of Cole's business strategy. But he says it continues to provide him with "physical inspiration" of the kind lacking in the virtual world.

He recently signed a new 4-year lease on the Haight Street location, which will keep it open until at least 2012.

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