FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., May 21, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) announced today that it and Luxottica Group S.p.A. (NYSE:LUX) (Milan:LUX) have settled two previously announced patent and intellectual property lawsuits pending against Luxottica and its subsidiaries Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, Ray Ban Sun Optics, Arnette and Revo, regarding claims by Oakley for infringement of certain intellectual property rights.
As part of the settlement, neither party admitted to any wrongdoing in either case, and all claims and counterclaims were released and dismissed. Further, the preliminary injunction that Oakley obtained in one of the cases against Luxottica's subsidiary Sunglass Hut is being dissolved.
Oakley will continue to use its patented XYZ Optics in its twin lens sunglasses and Luxottica will be free to use an agreed upon alternative method of optical correction for its sunglass products. Oakley will continue to maintain litigations for infringement of its XYZ Sunglass Optic Patents against other companies. Jim Jannard, Oakley's Chairman and CEO, indicated "This settlement eliminates one of the potential obstacles to the continued development of a strong commercial relationship between two leaders in the sunglass category."
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 also offers an expanding line of premium performance footwear, apparel, accessories, watches and prescription eyewear to consumers in more than 70 countries. Trailing-12-month revenues through March 31, 2003 totaled $491.2 million and generated net income of $38.3 million - a 7.8 percent net margin. Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company's Annual Report are available at no charge through the company's Web site 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. 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: risks related to the company's ability to manage rapid growth; 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 Sunglass Hut which is owned by a major competitor and, accordingly, could materially alter or terminate its relationship with the company; the company's ability to expand distribution channels and its own retail operations in a timely manner; 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; continued weakness of economic conditions could continue to reduce or further reduce demand for products sold by the company and could adversely affect profitability, especially of the company's retail operations; further terrorist acts, or the threat thereof, could continue to 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 acquisitions without adversely affecting operations; 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 effect 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 concentrated in Southern California where substantially all of the companies operations are based; the company's ability to identify and execute successfully cost control initiatives; 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, 2002 and other filings made periodically by the company. The company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information.