A marketplace-driven sport makes strides in the US

STOWE, Vt. -- When a Finnish ski-pole maker wanted to sell more poles, it didn't pray for snow: It created a new fitness activity in which people use their ski poles to walk year-round on perfectly dry trails, even on city streets.

Now the company, Exel Oyj, has its eye on spreading Nordic walking to a whole new market -- the United States -- and it has set up shop in Vermont to make it happen.

Devotees of the sport, which uses specially modified poles, swear Nordic walking burns more calories than regular walking, and uses more muscle groups.

Some powerful companies are betting it can succeed. Reebok is selling a special Nordic walking shoe, while L.L. Bean is featuring the sport on the cover of its 2006 women's spring clothing catalogue. (For shoppers curious about the photo of the happy-looking woman holding poles, L.L. Bean tells them, ''Did you know that you can get more mileage from your walking workout by adding Nordic poles?")

Once Exel introduced Nordic walking to Europe in the 1990s, it became an overnight craze -- 5 million Europeans are now Nordic walkers, according to an industry group. Other companies took notice and are convinced that it will soon gain popularity here.

''We saw the Nordic walking craze just taking over parts of Europe," said Scot Balentine, L.L. Bean's product developer for winter and summer sports. ''A lot of people were getting out and doing it. We think this activity will really resonate."

In Stowe, a spa called the Stoweflake Mountain Resort has taken the lead in luring newcomers to Nordic walking. One recent Saturday morning, a group of four women, dressed in tight-fitting black pants and fleece, showed up for the spa's Nordic walking class, where all levels are encouraged to join. They picked up a pair of poles, then hit the trail.

The basic body motion is intuitive: Plant the pole with your right arm, while stepping forward with your left leg, then the reverse.

But there are endless variations. ''You can run with them," said Chad Couto, the spa's fitness director. ''People run marathons with these things." Later in the class, he showed the women some other possibilities: Nordic skipping, Nordic bounding (similar to a walk, but with a little hop), and Nordic shuffling. All can be used in interval training on hills.

A regular in the class, Laura Fried, brought her 3-year-old daughter, Maya, along for the walk, and even outfitted her with special turquoise ''Nordic walker junior" poles. Fried first discovered the sport last summer when she showed up for a yoga class at the spa, but the fitness instructors persuaded her to try Nordic walking instead.

''The first time I was completely out of breath," she said. ''We went up hills, and my triceps really hurt. But I kept coming back, and built up the stamina. It's incredible."

After the workout, there are stretches that incorporate the poles. Several of the women looked flushed. ''You certainly get more of a workout than if you had just walked," said Mary Jackson, 60, who took the Nordic walking class after seeing it on the spa's fitness schedule.

To foster growth of the sport, the companies have come up with a simple plan: Introduce Nordic walking to professional fitness trainers who work at spas and gyms. They, in turn, will offer Nordic walking classes to their members, who will fall in love with the sport and want to do it on their own. Get enough converts, and it will create a groundswell of popular support -- and a legion of customers lobbying their local running stores to stock Nordic walking poles (which sell for about $99), shoes, and other equipment.

The pole company, Exel, ''had to plant the idea in the mind of consumers," said Tracy Ferland, Exel's vice president of marketing in North America. ''When people see someone walking with poles, people look at them kind of funny. But once someone tries it, they immediately feel the benefits and they're hooked."

In Europe, that method already has proven its success: The International Nordic Walking Association estimates that 2 million people now Nordic walk in Germany, 1.5 million in Finland, and 800,000 in Austria, with another million scattered in Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The sport's popularity in those countries may be due to a high number of cross-country skiers. Exel says its inspiration for Nordic walking came from hardcore skiers, who for decades have used poles to keep themselves in shape during the off-season.

Introducing consumers to an entirely new fitness activity is a well-traveled path. Reebok helped popularize step aerobics, and the demand for spinning classes has been a boon to gyms and stationary bicycle makers.

Mark Fenton of Scituate, a race walker who worked for Reebok during the step craze, said he was skeptical when an acquaintance introduced him to Nordic walking. But after trying it out and studying it, he decided Nordic walking has broader appeal than other fitness fads.

''This will be in senior centers or work sites," he said. ''You have far more people who would be likely to try Nordic walking than go to a gym."

It's also a textbook marketing play to take a product -- in this case, ski poles -- and try to expand them into new markets, said Beth Goldstein, a professor at Brandeis University's International Business School. She cautioned, however, that these transformations will only last in the long term if the product meets a real consumer need.

''If there's a need in Europe, there's most likely a need in the United States," she said.

Reebok was so eager to get in on Nordic walking in Europe that in 2003 it took its normal walking shoe and repackaged it as ''Nordic walking" to meet the demand. By 2004, the company had rolled out a specially designed Nordic walking shoe (the heel and forefoot flexibility are different) and sold 150,000 pairs. Last year, sales doubled to 300,000 pairs, said Marcy Schwam, Reebok's director of global walking.

In the United States, Reebok rolled out its Nordic walking shoe last year (suggested retail price: $100), though the sport is so new that many retailers do not stock them yet.

But before any of the companies can get rich here, they need North American converts to the sport. And that is happening one person at a time at the Stoweflake Resort.

Brenda Stermer of Montreal, a 55-year-old spa guest, used to be a long-distance runner before her left knee began to make a strange clicking sound. Now, after trying Nordic walking for the first time, she's already looking at it as more joint-friendly alternative.

She's even planning her future Nordic walking music: ''I like to listen to Billy Idol," she said.

Sasha Talcott can be reached at stalcott@globe.com.