Oakley: Let Nothing Weigh You Down
Oakley was founded in 1975 by Jim Jannard, with an initial modest investment of $300, selling what he called ‘the Oakley Grip’ out of the back of his car at motocross events. The name came from his English Setter, named Oakley Anne. His grips were unique and featured a different material from others, a material which is still used to make the earsocks on Oakley glasses, many of their nose pieces, and watch bands. Since their inception, the company has gone on to produce number plates, gloves, grips, elbow guards, chin guards, and goggles for motocross and BMX racers.
Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California | Photo Credit: Wikipedia
In 1980, the O-Frame Goggles were released. With the logo prominently displayed on the strap, their popularity and prominence in the sports community skyrocketed. In 1983, they began producing ski goggles as well.
James 'Jim' Jannard | Photo Credit: Forbes
The first Oakley sunglasses, the Factory Pilot Eyeshades, were sport-oriented and designed to resemble goggles. They were initially released in 1984, followed by the Oakley Frogskin in 1985, a casual styled sunglass that was made in Japan.The company went public in 1995, and raised $230 million. In early 1996, Oakley had a pricing dispute with Luxottica, an Italian company and the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer. This dispute led to Luxottica to stop carrying Oakley products in their stores, including Sunglass Hut. This was a huge hit to Oakley, whose stocks declined to a mere 33%.
In 2001, barely holding on, Oakley purchased Iacon Inc., an operator of mall-based sunglass stores like Sunglass Designs, Sporting Eyes, and Occhidali da Sole. This proved to be fruitful and led to Oakley signing a 4-year contract with Fox Racing to manufacture their eyewear in September 2004. 2006 brought the purchase of the Oliver Peoples group, a manufacturer of high-end fashion branded eyewear, Optical Shop of Aspen, a luxury eyewear retailer with fourteen stores of their own, and Eye Safety Systems, Inc. (ESS), another major manufacturer of tactical eye protection.
A pair of Oakley x Fox Sunglasses
After this newfound success, Luxottica announced on June 21, 2007 that they planned to purchase Oakley in a cash deal worth $2.1 billion (a 16% premium over the extant share price). The deal was completed on November 15, 2007, and added Oakley to an elite lineup of brands like Ray-Ban, Persol, and Vogue. The acquisition was questioned as being a potential violation of anti-trust laws, and also moved more of Oakley’s manufacturing out of the US and into production warehouses in China and Italy. James Jannard went on to found another company, Red Digital Cinema.
Oakley Sunglasses for Chilean Miners
In October 2010, thirty-three miners were trapped in a Chilean mine for ten weeks. A journalist contacted Oakley, who donated 35 pairs of specially designed Radar sports glasses, which were fitted with specialty tints to help the miners adjust to broad daylight after weeks in darkness. Oakley went on to sponsor members of the 2012 US Olympic Team, and in August 2013 sold their REVO brand to Sequential Brands for $20 million. That same year in November, Oakley signed a multi-year deal with Scuderia Ferrari. September 2015 saw the shutdown of Oakley Vault, the website of its outlet arm, while continuing their brick-and-mortar retail standing. Most recently, in March 2021, they announced a partnership with the Aston Martin F1 Team.