Heelys, the once-highflying, trendy company best known for the kid-targeted, wheel-in-the-sole shoes banned from many schoolyards and shopping malls, has unveiled an unlikely new product: Heelys without wheels.

With wheeled-shoe sales sliding in the U.S., the firm — whose net revenue declined fourfold in the first quarter of 2008 — will launch in July a line of grippy rubber shoes targeted at preteen skateboarders.

The move follows two quarters of "inventory management issues," said Don Carroll, who was named CEO on Tuesday.

Translation: too many Heelys, too few customers.

"Our biggest competition has been for share of wallet, given the economy," Carroll said. Now, Heelys will evolve into a "health and fitness" products company, he said.

That may be a tough sell. "Heelys without wheels in an economy without juice just won't roll," warned Marian Salzman, a teen-trend spotter. "Unless, that is, they get banned from school" — which adds cachet.

The new shoes do come adorned with skulls, crossbones and graffiti. But Heelys has seen its best days, said Matt Powell, analyst at SportsOneSource, a research firm. "The highflying days of a hot brand are not going to return."

But Carroll, the former marketing chief at RadioShack who joined Heelys five months ago, said he's got big brand-revival plans. Within five years, he projected, its wheeled shoes that generate 100 percent of sales will account for just 30 percent to 35 percent.

"We don't see ourselves as just a shoe company," he said. Future products (which he won't name) will target kids who skateboard, bicycle, scooter and wave-board.

The upcoming line of Sidewalk Sports shoes, dubbed Gecko and Gila, cost about $39.99 a pair. That's about $20 less than most wheeled Heelys, up to $40 less than many higher-end models.

The new shoe line features a rubber sole that the company claims has 33 percent more grip than any other skate shoe. That can help skateboarders stay on their boards better.

But it's a big stretch to link Heelys with skate shoe brands, such as Vans, said youth market consultant Gary Rudman.

"Kids are loyal to their skate shoe brands. This is a brand that has nothing to do with skating or extreme sports."

Give it time, said Carroll. The product extension is a natural, he insists. Later this fall, Heelys also will roll out glow-in-the-dark wheeled Heelys, he said.

"We've seen a lot of companies come and go in skateboarding over the last 40 years," said Chris Overholser, marketing chief for Vans. He said Heelys will simply be one more that comes — and goes.