FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Oct. 28, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) today announced the release of FIVES(r) 3.0, the latest milestone in the company's thirty-year legacy of blending science with art. Featuring a complete style update to the company's highly successful sunglasses originally launched in 1997, FIVES(r) 3.0 represents the first release of the company's 2006 sunglass line.
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"With an unbelievable three million pairs sold and having been a top-five seller every year since its creation, the challenge in creating the next generation of FIVES(r) was keeping the fashion, fit and performance of a true Oakley original intact," said Oakley President Colin Baden. "Representing the launch of our 2006 sunglass line, FIVES(r) 3.0 not only continues the evolution of this popular model, yet does it at an attractive price point with no compromise on the benefits of Oakley's High Definition Optics(tm) (HDO)."
Baden concluded, "Building on the successful straight-edged design language used in our 2005 models, FIVES(r) 3.0 are optimized for everyday fashion with a performance-edged style you can wear anywhere."
Oakley's High Definition Optics(tm) (HDO) is the company's performance technology architecture that includes optical clarity, impact resistance and harmful light protection well above industry standards. With patented XYZ Optics(r), the new FIVES(r) 3.0 eyewear maintains optical clarity at all angles of vision across the entire surface of the lens contours and has architecture which maximizes peripheral vision and impact, sun and wind. Protection is further optimized by frame materials and architecture, which maintains impact resistance that meets ANSI Z87.1 standards. FIVES(r) 3.0's Plutonite(r) lens material filters out 100 percent of all UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light up to 400 nm, and because the filtering is inherent to the lens material, it cannot be scratched off like the coatings of conventional sunglasses.
FIVES(r) 3.0 offers the durability and all-day comfort of lightweight O Matter(r) frame material. Design features include sculpturally integrated hinges and accents of true metal icons. The frame is engineered with Oakley's Three-Point Fit to maximize comfort while retaining the lenses in precise optical alignment.
Options for FIVES(r) 3.0 include Iridium(r) lens coatings that minimize glare and tune the transmission of light for any environment. Models will also be available with Oakley polarized lenses. Unlike conventional polarized lenses manufactured with techniques that can lead to haze and optical distortion, Oakley utilizes a proprietary injection-molding process that fully encapsulates the polarizing filter, infusing it with lens material at the molecular level. This achieves the highest possible degree of clarity and performance. In addition to these optional features, FIVES(r) 3.0 can be fitted with prescription lenses.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Part # Frame Color Lens Color Price ---------------------------------------------------------------- 03-430 Polished Black Grey $70 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 03-432 Brown Smoke Dark Bronze $70 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 03-431 Dark Grey Black Iridium(r) $80 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 03-433 Crystal Blue Black Iridium(r) $80 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 12-858 Brown Tortoise Bronze Polarized $125 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 12-859 Crystal Black Black Iridium(r) Polarized $135 ----------------------------------------------------------------
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 offers a full array of products including performance apparel and accessories, prescription eyewear, footwear, watches and electronics to consumers in more than 100 countries. Trailing-12-month net sales through September 30, 2005 totaled $638.7 million and generated net income of $52.6 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 financial 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 "look," "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 anticipated, including but not limited to: risks related to the sale of 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 terminate 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; the acceptance in the marketplace of the company's new products and changes in consumer preferences; 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; the company's ability to identify and successfully execute cost control initiatives; the impact of quotas, tariffs, or safeguards on the importation or exportation of the company's products 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 obligation 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 disclosure 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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