Oakley Holds Successful Preview of X Metal Sunglass
Line
PR Newswire - December 12, 1996 12:27
FINANCIAL OO REA PDT V%PRN P%PRN
IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE: 00) announced
today that it previewed the first model in its upcoming "X Metal" line, named
"Oscar," last night to athletes and personalities who will be involved in
marketing the product. The event took place at the company's soon-to-be-
completed new headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California. Among the
350 guests were beach volleyball star and model Gabrielle Reese, world
snowboard champion Terje Haakonsen, world surf champion Taylor Knox, NBA
basketball players Sean Elliot of the San Antonio Spurs and Bo Outlaw of the
LA Clippers, major league baseball players Tony Gwynn and Jason Giambi and
1996 Olympic medalists Kent Steffes, Allen Johnson, Kim Batten, Ato Boldon and
Inger Miller.
"Last night's event was a successful combination of the core culture and
technology that makes Oakley unique and distinguishes our products," said Jim
Jannard, chairman and president of Oakley. "It is very encouraging to see our
athletes and friends as excited as I am with "Oscar," seeing for the first
time the physics of Oakley's technology wrapped in sculpture and topped with
art," Jannard added.
The preview of "Oscar" was the first phase of the company's carefully
orchestrated release of "X Metal." Beginning next week and over the next two
months, Oakley will show "X Metal" to its most influential retail accounts,
work with athletes and personalities to gain editorial exposure and begin to
create marketing materials for "X Metal" and "0scar." The company indicated
that "0scar"'s suggested retail price in the domestic market would be $250.
"Allowing time for finishing refinements to our design process and
completion of engineering, we conservatively expect "Oscar" to be available in
stores by the end of February, well before the spring selling season," said
Jannard. "In fact, because I am so confident that we will complete and ship
"Oscar" by the end of February, I have advised the company I will voluntarily
forfeit my 1996 incentive bonus of approximately $1.0 million if "Oscar" does
not ship by that date." Jannard added, "The company is also very pleased with
its early success in producing "X Metal" parts, using a revolutionary process
for metal eyewear, in the Nevada facility. This vertical integration in
manufacturing is expected to have a positive impact on the company's already
enviable gross margins."
The company also reported that at last night's event there was excitement
at the surprise unveiling of Oakley's new "Racing Jacket," a sport-application
model from the "Jacket" line. The "Racing Jacket" is characterized by a
stronger hingeless frame, is more aerodynamic, sleeker and faster in design
than current "Jackets" and draws on the performance features developed for the
"Pro M Frame." The company expects to ship these new models by the middle of
the first quarter of 1997. The "Racing Jacket" follows the recently released
"Pro M Frame" and the new "Frogskin," which just began shipping today,
creating excitement in the market for the new and distinctive Oakley product
offerings.
Oakley is an innovation-driven designer, manufacturer and distributor of
high-performance eyewear.
SOURCE Oakley, Inc.
CONTACT: Link Newcomb, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer,
or Renee Law, Corporate Communications Manager, 714-951-0991 |
