Oakley Inc.
| Oakley, Inc.
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1975 |
| Seat | Foothill Ranch |
| Branch | Glasses |
Oakley Inc. is a US company in the sports and clothing industry and a subsidiary of the Luxottica Group. Its headquarters are in Foothill Ranch , California and Letchworth Garden City , Hertfordshire , UK .
history
Oakley was founded in 1975 by Jim Jannard. At that time he sold the B-1B , a grip for BMX handlebars, straight from his car at motocross events. These were different from the grips that BMX racing riders used at the time: they didn't get slippery when wet, but more grippy. This always ensured a good grip even in the mud. Even today, the B-1B grips are known for their tradition and unique properties in the BMX racing scene.
Although very successful, the handles were hidden in the hands of the drivers in these races for most of the time, so they had little promotional effect. Many people had heard of them but didn't know what they looked like. It was 1980 when Jim launched a pair of bicycle motocross goggles called the "O Frame". With the classic Oakley logo on the strap, viewers could now perceive the Oakley brand. In 1984 Oakley introduced the "Factory Pilot", sunglasses with the same lens shape as the "O Frame", combined with normal temples. The Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and other professional cyclists made the glasses known. In 1986, Oakley introduced other sunglasses models that for the first time offered a real interchangeable lens system. The models known as "Blades" and "Razor Blades" were the forerunners of the "Mumbos" released in 1989, which were later renamed "M Frame".
Oakley sunglasses have also appeared in action films such as Blade II , Mission: Impossible II , Mission: Impossible - Phantom Protocol , Black Hawk Down , X-Men , Drive Angry and Mr. & Mrs. Smith .
In June 2007 the Italian eyewear fashion group Luxottica took over Oakley for 2.1 billion US dollars (1.5 billion €).
The best known products are sunglasses and ski goggles . Oakley also produces watches , clothing , backpacks , shoes and many other items, primarily for the sports industry.
The company logo is an oval "O" that can be found on almost all products. Mainly on the clothes there is also a skull symbol . Oakley is known for its futuristic design, which the company describes as a mixture of the organic and the artificial.
The capitalization is approx. 1.1 billion US dollars (as of 2006 ), the worldwide turnover in 2005 approx. 650 million US dollars. Chairman of the supervisory board (chairman) and founder of the company , which has existed since 1975 , is James Jannard , who also holds 68% of the shares (2006). The current Chief Executive Officer is Scott Olivet.
Trivia
As with many other branded companies, counterfeit products are also common. These are primarily sold to tourists on the Internet or abroad and are known as “Foakleys” (fake Oakleys) or “Joke-leys”.
