NEWS,
Oakley to launch sports shoe - newspaper
Reuters Story - April 05, 1998 16:26
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NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) - Sunglasses maker Oakley Inc.
is about to toughen its stance against sportswear giant Nike
Inc. 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.
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