FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Jan. 6, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) today announced that Scott Bowers, Vice President of Sports Marketing, has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President of Marketing Worldwide. In his new role, Mr. Bowers will be responsible for overseeing worldwide all aspects of Oakley's marketing programs, including sports marketing, advertising and Oakley's consumer marketing campaigns.
"Scott has demonstrated his ability to oversee and direct not only sports marketing but all of Oakley's marketing efforts worldwide. With more than 15 years of association with the Oakley brand, Scott is the ideal person to oversee the delivery of Oakley's marketing message," commented Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Jannard.
Mr. Bowers joined Oakley in May of 1988 working in sports marketing and overseeing snow and outdoor sports. He then served as a regional sales manager before taking the position of Director of Sports Marketing from January 1995 to December 1999. Since 1995, Mr. Bowers has been responsible for overseeing relationships with more than 1,500 athletes worldwide who endorse Oakley products. In January 2000, he was named Vice President of Sports Marketing. In 2001, Mr. Bowers was chosen as one of the "Advertising Age 100 Marketers of the Year" for his work in positioning Oakley as the top performance brand for athletes and was most recently recognized by Sporting Goods Business as a leading marketer in the action sports industry. Prior to joining Oakley, Mr. Bowers had eleven years of experience in the snow/ski industry holding positions both in retail management and as an independent sales representative.
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 prescription eyewear, premium performance footwear, apparel, accessories and watches to consumers in more than 100 countries. Trailing-12-month revenues through September 30, 2003 totaled $502.9 million and generated net income of $37.3 million. 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.