A year from now we will probably / hopefully laugh about all this.

An optimist to the end. Bless you.

i really hope so!

just to throw this out there but one could easily start another sunglass company with 1.4 billion. one with all new technology that was not sold to lux. with an imagination like jannard he could already have 10 high end pairs drawn up and tested on the side....or he may not we will see.

I wish I shared your optimism Edwin.
But I think even though the spokesman's saying "nothing will change" The rest of the Lux boys are in the back ripping out the x-metal & icons et al.

ust to throw this out there but one could easily start another sunglass company with 1.4 billion. one with all new technology that was not sold to lux.

He could, or he could focus on RED.

well then all we have to do is start collecting red. it just means that we will have alot less enteries in the "latest purchases" thread.

Q

one could easily start another sunglass company with 1.4 billion

But there would probably be a non-compete clause somewhere in the transaction which would prevent JJ doing this for a period of time....

I agree with Quinton

funny thing about those clauses is they are normally just long enough for you to set up shop in another location and get the ball rolling.

btw if i struck it 1.4billion(or even like 50 million) rich you would never see me again. i would have my buns parked next to oprah's house off the shores of key west with a tom collins and a short blonde.

i wonder how many pairs of oakleys jannard has.....

sorry to go off topic but damn 1.4 billion. personally im proud of the guy. he held out that long.

I really dont think that this deal is about money, people tend to forget that Mr. Jannard was a billionnaire way before that...

I think he genuinely thinks its the right decision to puch Oakley to the next level.

Time will tell.

What's great is from now on I can blame all the crappy stuff on Luxottica, and thank all the good stuff to the Mad Scientists.

Oh, and I've noticed that RED Users are really no less fanatical than Oakley Reviewers.

I will draft mine tonight along with the photos and PM from JJ himself of my near death experience trying to obtain a few hard to find pieces of Oakley!! I love who they are and can't even begin to fathom who they will be with this foreign "corporate merger". That's like saying Disneyland would still be Disneyland if Six Flags took it over.

It all went downhill when Walt died, but that's another story.

Sad thing is, Jim can't start another business, NOR consult. Maybe Jamin can start one and Jim can leave notes around or something.

Well, my loyalty lies in the O and not RED, so I will not be with those of you who are willing to move on to that. I support Oakley; not necessarily Jannard's ventures. Besides, I don't have anywhere near enough cash to spare for the RED One. And I would never use it.

But what I would like right now is perhaps a reminder... maybe for all of us:

Through whatever means of whatever it is that we do, what are we trying to accomplish in the end?

Mr. Jannard was a billionaire way before that

Having a net worth of over 1 billion and having cold hard cash are two different stories. Net worth (tied to a company's stock price/earnings) can change daily. You can be a billionaire one day and then Enron the next. Cash is cash. You only get hit with inflation and taxes. If you have the 9 zeros in your bank account, the interest that you will get paid will more than make up for it.

And since he has held the company stock over 1 year, this is a long term capital gain. The cash he should receive when the sale of the stock goes through will only be taxed at 15%. You do the math, he is going one with almost 1.15 billion in his pocket - and he gets to stay chairman of the board and "chief mad scientist." Sounds like a really good deal for him.

Well... what can you say? Every man has his price. I still like to say that's not true but.... this was a strong blow to my belief.... Afterall, a man can only speak truly about himself.

I agree with you, Collier. What I miss in all the posts are compliments to Jim. Of course everyone has his price. Each and every one of us would have done pretty much the same thing when push comes to shove.
Therefor, businesswise, I'm pretty darn proud of Jim; going from scrap to billionaire in about 30 years!
I refuse to take part in the mutual screaming and crying and making up possible problems when I don't see them - yet.If you like it or not, Luxotica has done good things to the RayBan brand, Channel and a few other examples. You might not like that - to some, RB is all about Large Metals and Oakley all about what used to be - but life is about evolution. Oakley just moved on into the next stage of its life. Getting married with a very good partner, to make sure the future looks bright. For Oakley, as a brand...

Who said anything about going to RED? Nothing like collecting sunglasses, for one thing; one's a lot more instrumental in paying the bills than the other.

I'm with Edwin. I'm not prepared to say whether the whole shebang is bad or not when nothing to prove either has happened yet.

It is slightly possible not that much will change but ...change of some kind is inevitable..I feel the sting too...however its not worth getting watery eyes or drunk over yet...Ill really miss the vaults if they close for apparel and tons of - but as I said earlier I'd grab those OCE pairs u may have been waiting to order now because Ruby and Emerald might really become history...with 50 pairs of Oaks, I can live with what I have for while...Ill miss going into work and calling in at 8 am EST and the thrill of ordering a new pair with 2 day shipping..and that call from the wife.."they're here"

For me, when I first heard I was pretty upset about it.

But I've really thought about it. As as entrepreneuer in my own right, if someone were to come in and try and buy my small comglomerate, if the price was high enough, I would probably sell. Especially if I got to stay as chairman of the board of one of my companies.

I don't have an empire as big as Oakley, but my five firms give me a substantial net worth on paper. But paper is paper, cash is cash (yes I know it is paper, but it has a pegged value that is way above the value of its parts).

I'm kind of happy and sad about everything at the same time. Happy for JJ in the respect that he started the company and is getting substantially rewarded for it. Sad for us because we don't know what will happen to Oakley. And with any leadership changes, something will change, you just don't know how much of a change it is going to be.

I'm with you on that Collier.

I was annoyed/angry when i first heard the news but now It's a wait and see game. If they stay true to their heritage i shall be along for the ride, but if they forget about it than i shall to.

As for Jim... i choose to wish him all the best in his future endeavors, he's been there for 32 yrs, thats a long time. Sometimes you need a change in your life.

Here here Mike, Oakley is and always has been(for me at least) all about the product. While I have great respect for Jim as the founder and driving force behind it, it’s hardly appropriate to criticize him personally or second guess his business decisions in any way, even if we strongly disagree with them.. If Oakley continues to be a sound product with design and quality attributes that I can appreciate, then I too will stay loyal to the brand, regardless of who’s in charge at the top. If not, like you say.. it’s not the end of the world and there’s other things to devote time and money to.

So, best wishes to JJ and many thanks for the years of commitment and dedication that made Oakley a great brand.

ah. i see that the other shoe has finally dropped. you may or may not have noticed that i havent been around; i hope you guys understand why now.

i believe the story ends here- and i look at the o review and wonder what people who discover this content in 100 years will think.

its been fun, hasnt it? i think i need to visit a vault

I like to think that this whole thing is a great example of recognition that Oakley is the best, and by far too. Its biggest competitor realized that there was no point in trying to achieve such high levels of quality in the optics on their own, so instead of fighting a lost battle, they joined forces. That's a huge compliment to the company, a great sign of accomplishment for Jim and his teammates. We should (in a way) be honored by the fact that the only way Lux could ''get'' us, or ''beat'' us, is by using money to buy us out.

I'm glad that a lot are actually thinking this through and taking a few steps back, because nobody in here, nor even at Foothill, knows exactly how everything is going to go down in the end and where Oakley will be 5-10 years from now. There's still a lot of talking and discussing and idea-conceiving to do. Let these guys do their thing, they've been good at it for 32 years, I don't see why they'd just stop because of a change of captain.