how about Oakley? OO
Sunday April 5, 4:30 pm Eastern Time
Oakley to launch sports shoe - newspaper
NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) - Sunglasses maker Oakley Inc. is about to toughen its stance against sportswear giant Nike
Inc. (NKE - news) by launching its own sports shoe, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
Oakley, known for its high-end sunglasses worn by famous athletes, plans to bring to market a high-top, all-round sports shoe
as it struggles to boost diminished revenues, said an article published in the daily.
Oakley has reorganized some of its operations and introduced new lines of sunglasses in an effort to overcome a the effects of
a general downturn in the market during the past year, it said.
And its efforts appear to have impressed equity analysts, who expect higher 1998 sales than the previous year, the article said.
''Oakley's business has stabilized and we believe new product launches could prove to be the catalyst for the company's next
growth spurt,'' it cited Michael Conn at Gruntal & Co as saying.
''The new products in their core sunglasses business will carry them, and the shoe, if it does O.K., could really propel them,''
said Francis Gannon at Sun America Asset Management, which owns stock in the company.
The article said Marcia Aaron of BT Alex. Brown foresaw revenues rising 20 percent to $233 million this year. She also
projected net income to rise to $0.35 per share from $0.28 last year, it said.
First Call's consensus among analysts who cover the company have the same forecast.
Mark Miller of Merrill Lynch was a bit more skeptical, seeing slow and steady rather than explosive growth for the new line of
glasses, the article said.
Based in Orange Country, California, Oakley already competes against Nike in the market for sunglasses.
More Quotes
and News:
Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE - news)
Oakley Inc (NYSE:OO - news)
Help |
