Oakley Releases Three New Sunglass Designs

May 06, 2005 (PRLEAP.COM) Sports News
New Design Innovations, New Open-Edge Frame

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., – Oakley, Inc. (NYSE: OO) today announced the upcoming release of three new sunglass designs. RIDDLE™ (http://oakley.com/o/o2226d) and GASCAN™ (http://oakley.com/o/o2222d) are two styles that represent an entirely new design language for the company. The third release, BOTTLECAP™ (http://oakley.com/o/o2223d,) is a new version of Oakley’s successful HALF JACKET™ (http://oakley.com/brochures/eyewear/half_jacket/) sunglass.
“Sharp angles and straight edges define the new design language of RIDDLE™ and GASCAN™ eyewear, and the science behind these inventions is just as innovative as the art,” said Oakley President Colin Baden. “BOTTLECAP™ eyewear features an open-edge frame for an unobstructed field of downward vision. This sunglass is intended to extend the legacy of our overwhelmingly popular HALF JACKET™, which has been our strongest selling sunglass for several years. BOTTLECAP™ is designed to capture a more conservative consumer base while still offering fashion-forward styling.”
“For RIDDLE™ eyewear, our precision frame technologies and lens cutting abilities allow us to use a single continuous lens, mounted flush with the outer sur¬face of the frame,” Baden explained. “We started with the same single-lens geometry for GASCAN™ and cut it into two lenses. The process retains the benefits of Polaric Ellipsoid™ lens geometry while offering aesthetics so unique, we actually customized our corporate logo just for this eyewear,” Baden concluded.
Oakley’s new RIDDLE™ eyewear includes patented XYZ Optics®. This technology maximizes clarity at all angles of vision, even at the lens periphery. The RIDDLE™ frame is surprisingly lightweight for its size, thanks to the com¬pany’s proprietary O Matter® frame material. Impact protection meets all ANSI standards, and Oakley’s Three-Point Fit optimizes comfort while keeping the lens in precise optical alignment.
The company’s new GASCAN™ eyewear features sculpturally integrated hinges with metal icons that accent a frame of stress-resistant O Matter®. The lightweight material offers all-day comfort, even with the expanded dimensions of the frame’s aggressive styling. XYZ Optics® extends clarity to the periphery of the lenses, allowing for design contours that open peripheral vision. As with all Oakley eyewear, pure Plutonite® is utilized to create lenses that filter out 100% of all UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light.
An open-edge design of lightweight O Matter® frame material, BOTTLECAP™ utilizes patented XYZ Optics® to maintain razor sharp clarity at all angles of vision. Offering a com¬fortable fit on all facial sizes, BOTTLECAP™ is especially well suited for small to medium faces, due to contouring that eliminates the wide corners of conventional frames. The durable design meets all ANSI Z87.1 standards for impact protection, and provides 100% UV filtering. Its sculpturally integrated hinges are engineered with dual cam action and accented with true metal icons.

About Oakley, Inc.
Oakley: a world brand, driven to ignite the imagination through the fusion of art and science. Building on its legacy of innovative, market-leading, premium sunglasses, the company also offers an expanding line of premium performance apparel and accessories, prescription eyewear, footwear, electronics and watches to consumers in more than 100 countries. Trailing-12-month net sales through March 31, 2005 totaled $598.6 million and generated net income of $44.7 million. Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company’s annual report are available at www.oakley.com.

Safe Harbor Disclaimer
This press release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature. Such statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to growth and strategies, future operating and finan¬cial results, financial expectations and current business indicators are based upon current information and expectations and are subject to change based on factors beyond the control of the company. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “might,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. The accuracy of such statements may be impacted by a number of business risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or antici¬pated, including but not limited to: the acceptance in the marketplace of the com¬pany’s new products and changes in consumer preferences; risks related to the sale of OAKLEY THUMP™ and new product introductions in the company’s electronics category; the company’s ability to maintain approved vendor status and continue to receive product orders from the U.S. military; the company’s ability to integrate and operate acquisitions, the company’s ability to manage rapid growth; risks related to the limited visibility of future sunglass orders associated with the company’s “at once” production and fulfillment business model; the ability to identify qualified manufacturing partners; the ability to coordinate product development and production processes with those partners; the ability of those manufacturing partners and the company’s internal production operations to increase production volumes on raw materials and finished goods in a timely fashion in response to increasing demand and enable the company to achieve timely delivery of finished goods to its retail customers; the ability to provide adequate fixturing to existing and future retail customers to meet anticipated needs and schedules; the dependence on eyewear sales to Luxottica Group S.p.A, which, as a major competitor, could materially alter or termi¬nate its relationship with the company; the company’s ability to expand and grow its distribution channels and its own retail operations; unanticipated changes in general market conditions or other factors, which may result in cancellations of advance orders or a reduction in the rate of reorders placed by retailers; a weakening of economic conditions could continue to reduce demand for products sold by the company and could adversely affect profitability, especially of the company’s retail operations; terrorist acts, or the threat thereof, could adversely affect consumer confidence and spending, could interrupt production and distribution of product and raw materials and could, as a result, adversely affect the company’s operations and financial performance; the ability of the company to integrate licensing arrangements without adversely affecting operations and the success of such initiatives; the ability to continue to develop and produce innovative new products and introduce them in a timely manner; reductions in sales of products, either as the result of economic or other conditions or reduced consumer acceptance of a product, could result in a buildup of inventory; the ability to source raw materials and finished products at favorable prices to the company; the potential impact of periodic power crises on the company’s operations including temporary blackouts at the company’s facilities; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; earthquakes or other natural disasters concentrated in Southern California where a significant portion of the company’s operations are based; the company’s ability to identify and execute successfully cost control initiatives; and other risks outlined in the company’s SEC filings, including but not limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and other filings made periodically by the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The company undertakes no obli¬gation to update this forward-looking information. Nonetheless, the Company reserves the right to make such updates from time to time by press release, periodic report or other method of public disclo¬sure without the need for specific reference to this press release. No such update shall be deemed to indicate that other statements not addressed by such update remain correct or create an obligation to provide any other updates.

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