FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., March 28, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) today announced the release of its 2007 women's sunglass collection. Inspired by the unique personalities and lifestyles of the company's female sport pros, 15 SKUs representing three entirely new frame geometries celebrate the independence and individualism of active women.
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"The expansion of our women's sunglass collection offers a tremendous opportunity to address a unique consumer -- a woman unafraid to push the limits of her athleticism yet one that covets her individual femininity at the same time," said Colin Baden, president, Oakley, Inc. "Many women choose eyewear on the basis of fashion, unaware of sacrificing optical clarity -- this is unacceptable. By offering the unbeatable clarity of Oakley's High Definition Optics(r) and superior comfort, our women's sunglass collection bridges the gap between style and function."
"Oakley is well positioned to connect with active women. The company evolved in the youth culture of action sports, serving and inspiring free spirits who define their own lifestyle, so we have unique insight into today's active woman and the ability to fuel her aspirations," continued Baden. "The independence of this personal style has been crystallized into three new eyewear creations: DISOBEY(tm), BEHAVE(tm) and SPEECHLESS(tm)."
Each of the new sunglass designs features uniquely feminine frame geometry and the clarity, comfort and protection synonymous with the Oakley brand. Oakley's new DISOBEY(tm) sunglass achieves depth with tiered shading within the frame material. Durable, lightweight O Matter(r) is used to ensure all-day comfort. The temples are highlighted by true metal icons.
A new style called BEHAVE(tm) utilizes C-5(tm) alloy and includes an exclusive design accent on the frame temples. The comfortably lightweight metal creates a flowing contour around the eyes and finishes in see-through stems.
Oakley's new SPEECHLESS(tm) sunglass is an athletically inspired design in stress-resistant, lightweight O Matter(r) frame material. The confident, assertive styling is enriched with feminine contouring and finished with metal icons.
Each sunglass in Oakley's 2007 women's collection comes with a fashion eyewear case. Lenses are available in a range of colors that blend fashion with the performance of balanced light filtering. Gradient shading is also an available option, as is Oakley polarization that eliminates the haze and distortion common to ordinary polarized lenses and achieves the best polarized optics available. For those who require corrective optics, BEHAVE(tm) and DISOBEY(tm) are available with Oakley prescription lenses. For more information on Oakley's 2007 women's eyewear collection, please visit http://oakley.com/women/uniquely.
About Oakley, Inc.
Oakley is a worldwide leader in performance optics including premium sunglasses, goggles, and prescription eyewear. Headquartered in Southern California, the company's optics brand portfolio includes Dragon, Eye Safety Systems, Fox Racing, Mosley Tribes, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, and Paul Smith Spectacles. In addition to its worldwide wholesale business, the company operates retail locations including Oakley Stores, The Optical Shop of Aspen, and Sunglass Icon, the second largest sunglass specialty chain in the United States. The company also offers a wide selection of Oakley-branded apparel, footwear, watches and accessories. Additional information is available at www.oakley.com.
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Safe Harbor Disclaimer
This press release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature. Such statements are made pursuant to the "forward-looking statements" and "safe harbor" provisions within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to growth and strategies, future operating and financial results, financial expectations and current business indicators and are typically identified by the use of terms such as "look," "may," "should," "might," "believe," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements may be 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 sunglass and electronics product introductions; execution of anticipated restructuring and realignment of product categories; the company's ability to integrate and operate acquisitions; the company's ability to manage rapid growth; new and existing channel inventory management 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 customers; the ability to provide adequate fixturing to existing and future retail customers to meet anticipated needs and schedules; the dependence on optics 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; the ability of the company to integrate licensing arrangements without adversely affecting operations and the success of such initiatives. Additional factors are detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Risk Factors contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and as updated in the company's quarterly filings on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter this forward-looking information.
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