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In 1987, Sheri Poe created Ryka, the first women's-only athletic shoe company. It wasn't an overnight success.
Poe, 54, remembers retailers telling her that "a women's-only shoe company will not make it," she recalls. "You have to do something besides just women's shoes."
Nearly 20 years later, Ryka has created a niche as a women's fitness company, specializing in athletic shoes and apparel. Previously, sporting goods stores featured only a few women's shoes, and those were for women in name only, Poe says. The shoes were simply smaller men's versions, she says. Ryka's shoes are made from a mold of a woman's foot, which is narrower in the heel and wider in the forefoot.
"Women were desperate for a choice," Poe says. "They thought I was out of my mind. It made so much sense. No one was listening."
They are now.
Manufacturers are recognizing that women's needs differ from men's, says Kevin Kempin, marketing director for Head/Penn Racquet Sports. Women need specially designed apparel and equipment to help them excel and minimize injuries, he says.
During the past two decades, women's involvement in recreational sports has steadily grown. Total female health-club membership has increased from 9 million in 1987 to 23.5 million in 2005, according to statistics from the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. There also are more professional and college sports opportunities for women.
Kempin and Poe attribute this trend to the passage of Title IX legislation in 1972. The legislation prohibited sex discrimination in athletics, which they say sparked the changes.
Professional women athletes "have legitimized that it is OK to be an athlete and to sweat," Kempin says. "Tennis was somewhat slow to the party. Running shoes were early on. They were leading the way."
Manufacturers have slowly tapped into the women's market. Hinda Miller helped pioneer the concept of women's athletic apparel when she co-founded Jogbra Inc. in 1977. Ryka was next. Calloway Golf introduced a women's club line in 1990.
More recently, sporting goods manufacturers have produced gear designed for female snow skiers, soccer players, water-sports enthusiasts, bikers and extreme-sport participants.
Before a product is introduced, considerable research goes into finding out what women want. For example, Head spent more than two years developing its Airflow women's tennis racket. In July, the company launched the racket, which is lightweight and balanced and has a narrower grip.
"It's not a fashion statement," Kempin says. "It's meant to enhance your performance."
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WINDOW SHOPPING
Here's a sampling of other products made for female athletes.
Ping G5L, $350
This driver, designed for women, is one of the best for playability, says assistant Prestonwood Country Club golf pro Ira McGraw. It's forgiving, so if you don't hit the ball in the sweet spot, the ball might end up just off the fairway instead of in the water. In the golf world, most pros recommend a custom fit. Women's clubs are typically lighter and the shafts less stiff because women are often shorter than men with less upper body strength. Available at golf specialty shops.
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