Oakley to Consolidate Its Multi-Brand Iacon Retail Store Concepts Under Sunglass Icon Brand (article en anglais)

Company's 110 Stores Creates Second Largest U.S. Sunglass Specialty Chain
 
Oakley, Inc. today announced a strategic initiative to create the second largest U.S. sunglass specialty retail chain by re-branding its multi-brand, sunglass specialty retail store concepts under one name -- Sunglass Icon(tm).
 
Oakley's 110 mall-based multi-brand sunglass specialty stores, housed under its wholly owned Iacon subsidiary, are currently comprised of six separate retail concepts including Occhiali da Sole, Optica, Sporting Eyes, Sunglass Club, Sunglass Designs and Sunglass Icon. Under the company's new retail brand consolidation strategy, five of the six retail concepts will be consolidated under the Sunglass Icon brand, while two Optica stores will be managed by The Optical Shop of Aspen (OSA) retail subsidiary that caters to consumers of high-end premium prescription eyewear and sunglasses.
 
"In conjunction with Oakley's renewed focus on optics, establishing a single Sunglass Icon retail concept is an excellent opportunity for us to build value through enhanced consumer recognition and loyalty," said Oakley, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Olivet. "The Sunglass Icon retail concept is designed to help convey our expertise across the entire sunglass category, and provide a high-quality, customized shopping experience for multiple consumer segments."
 
"Additionally, we expect this retail brand consolidation strategy to achieve enhanced operational efficiencies by leveraging consistent signage and fixtures and optimizing regional advertising and promotions," Olivet continued. "We also believe creating a strong, national identity will enable us to attract and retain the best personnel for our retail stores."
 
Jeff Obstfeld, president of Sunglass Icon commented, "We have grown our retail store count substantially since Oakley's acquisition of Iacon in 2001, demonstrating a strong commitment to invest in an expanding retail footprint. With this re-branding, we will leverage our name recognition among mall developers as a formidable national tenant and among consumers as the sunglass experts, pursuing future growth under a single, unified, scaleable retail concept."
 
The company plans to begin retrofitting stores with new signage immediately and expects to complete the transition within 12-18 months.
 
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 offers a full array of products including performance apparel and accessories, prescription eyewear, footwear, watches and electronics to consumers in more than 100 countries. Trailing-12-month net sales through March 31, 2006 totaled $658 million. Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company's annual report are available at www.oakley.com.
 
Source : communiqué de presse