Xtreme profit in sports

March 4, 1997: 3:51 p.m. ET

Youngsters are big on the extreme scene, and companies are cashing in
From Correspondent Sean Callebs

NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- They are the 'boarders and the 'bladers.
     They are among the 78 million people in the U.S. between the ages of 15 and 30, and that group spends more than $100 billion a year.
     These are the consumers buying the hard goods and apparel of so-called "extreme sports."
     "I think if you look at the growth number of all the sports that we've been covering, they've really kept increasing year after year," Scott Kelliher, director of marketing at Blades Board and Skate, said.
     Madison Avenue is certainly taking notice.
     Volkswagen is now giving away K2 skis or a K2 snowboard with purchase of a special VW Golf.
     Pepsi, too, wants to be the drink of the extreme crowd. And even Ralph Lauren is venturing outside the country club set and targeting this hip crowd.
     "I think it's very aspirational," Mike Feuling, vice president of marketing at Ralph Lauren, said. "I think if you are 60 years old, you wish you could be climbing the mountain and doing extreme skiing or snowboarding. So I think it is a concept that appeals to everyone."
     Some analysts are convinced extreme sports are not a fad, but a trend, meaning the culture will be around for a while.
     Ladenberg Thalmann is urging investors to scoop up stocks of publicly traded companies that retail clothing that appeals to the extreme crowd.
     "I mean, what kids are wearing on the slopes is being translated into what they wear on the streets," Chad Jacobs, analyst at Ladenberg Thalmann, said. (WAV 121K) or (AIFF 121K)
     Targeting cutting edge cultural trends has worked before for other retailers.
     For example, Tommy Hilfiger and Fila actively went after the inner-city crowd, with much success. For them, the reward was a solid run-up in stock value.