FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Jan. 13, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) today announced the opening of the first licensed O Store(r) outside the United States and discussed the company's plans for additional international Oakley retail locations. This latest addition to the company's expanding retail presence opened December 10, 2003 in the Shopping Mall Alto Las Condes in Santiago, Chile. The store is owned and operated by Racing Ltda., Oakley's exclusive distributor for Chile. Terms of the license agreement were not disclosed.
"Continuing to build upon our youth sports and lifestyle demographic, Chile represents an influential market in South America. Santiago is also considered a fashion forward cosmopolitan city, making it a great launching pad for our international O Store(r) expansion initiatives," commented Oakley Chief Operating Officer Link Newcomb. "Our distributor there has been the perfect partner for this new launch, given the strong relationship we have had with them in that country for more than a dozen years, coupled with the strength of the Oakley brand in the market which they have helped cultivate. Thus far, we are all pleased with the results we have achieved."
Newcomb further commented on future expansion plans, "Considering that approximately half of Oakley's sales are generated outside the United States and the brand is well recognized the world over, we believe that expansion of our retail concepts to key locations worldwide represents a tremendous long-term opportunity. Our international O Store(r) philosophy is to find locations in areas with a youth sports/lifestyle focus and fashion forward thinking where we have strong partnership candidates with a history of embracing the Oakley brand. Areas under consideration currently include London, Barcelona and Dubai. International locations may be opened and managed directly by the existing international Oakley sales and marketing offices around the world or through license agreements with qualified partners such as in the case of the Santiago, Chile location."
In addition to this latest store opening, Oakley currently operates, through its South Pacific subsidiary, an O Store(r) in Torquay, Australia opened in November 2001 in the heart of Australia's surf industry near the company's headquarters there; two Oakley Vaults(r) (the company's retail outlet concept) that opened under licensing agreements in March 2002 in Portsmouth and in April 2003 in York, United Kingdom; an Oakley Vault(r) that opened in December 2003 under license in Calais, France; and an Oakley Vault(r) opened in April 2002 that is operated by Oakley's South African subsidiary and is located near the company's South African headquarters in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
O Store Concept
Designed to augment the company's valued retail partnerships around the world, the O Store(r) represents a vital link between Oakley and its customers. As an opportunity for global expansion, the program supports all retail channels through increased brand awareness and enhanced consumer education in the science and art of Oakley inventions.
Armed with the widest, most comprehensive inventory of Oakley innovations, the O Store(r) offers a full selection of the company's sunglasses and expanding lines of prescription eyewear, premium performance footwear, apparel, accessories and watches. In addition, the O Store(r) offers customers a unique opportunity to preview new generations of Oakley performance products. The company is devoted to making the best products on the planet by letting invention lead the way. The latest breakthroughs receive their initial public exposure via the O Store(r) chain.
In addition, the Oakley Vault(r) concept offers customers a unique opportunity to purchase off-season and discontinued merchandise from all categories.
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 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.