Oakley Hosts In-Store Event with Gretchen Bleiler Celebrating Style Week Orange County
Irvine, CA (July 24, 2008) – Oakley’s famed professional snowboarder, Gretchen Bleiler, will be at the Oakley store in the Irvine Spectrum Center® on September 13, 2008 for an in-store signing to celebrate Orange County’s Style Week from 2-3pm. This six-day fashion event will be held September 8-13 and will feature fashion shows, a House of Style fashion retrospective with archival displays and iconic style statements from The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, as well as dozens of in-store designer appearances and trunk shows.
Bleiler, a silver medal recipient at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy, 2008 ESPY award winner and four time champion of the X-Games, can now add fashion designer to her growing resume as she gears up to launch the first ever, highly anticipated Signature Apparel Series by Oakley. She is the first female athlete to collaborate with Oakley to design an outerwear/lifestyle apparel and accessory collection, hitting stores this fall.
"Gretchen embodies the Oakley brand in the way she communicates on and off the slopes," says Jennifer Bradley, Oakley Women’s Brand Director. "She’s a strong, independent and courageous woman, a serious risk taker whose goals and initiatives align perfectly with Oakley. The company evolved in the youth culture of action sports, empowering those who define their own lifestyles. Simply put, she’s the perfect partner to jumpstart our women’s movement."
When asked about her designs, Bleiler "wanted to create clothing she would be excited to wear, something entirely new that could take me from daily riding to just chillin’." Stylish yet functional, the Gretchen Bleiler collection goes beyond the standard ski jacket and snowboard pants, offering women of all ages limited-edition gear ranging from goggles and sunglasses with the signature lion motif to fur-trimmed high-altitude jackets and silky long underwear.
Inspired by her environmental activism, a two-piece jacket and pant ensemble is eco-friendly, as it is assembled by ECO STORM™ textiles whose recycled fibers are a benefit of ECO CIRCLE™ technology, which reduces energy and carbon dioxide emissions. The protective layer is also produced without solvents, which cuts down on eco assaults.
Select designs from the Gretchen Bleiler Collection for Oakley available October 2008.
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 Fox Racing, Mosley Tribes, 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.
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.
Media Contacts: Brooke Hilton | Meghan Bailey