I haven't said anything for a while, I've tried to keep back and let things settle. Time will tell how these things work out. Like many of you I've been torn over the past few days. Oakley has been my life for the past 4 yrs. For a young cat like me that's saying a lot. I don't know whether this will be good or bad, no one does just yet. I'm saying things that have already been said but on one hand, things could stay pretty much the same and Oakley could become more of a worldwide power with greater distribution. On the other hand we could be standing on the step of complete doom for our love. One thing I do know is that Jim Jannard is a genuine person. He knows what he's doing. We know that he knows what he's doing. We know he cares about people. We know he cares about Oakley. After all, he is their creator. For 32 years now Oakley has been Jim's baby. Even though money talks, we all know that Jim, being the man that he is wouldn't just sell Oakley if he thought it was going to destroy his efforts. He wouldn't abandon what he has worked so hard to perfect. We have all spoke highly of him before, so why stop now? This could be viewed as an act by him to do what's best for HIS company. Even if that means that he won't be the head man any more. Personally, while I, like no one else knows if this will be good or bad I think we should rest somewhat assured by Jim Jannard. Because we of all people know his dedication and truth to people is there. We know his dedication is a real thing. And I know that while all of this is really hard for all of us to take, that our leader thinks that this is in some way best for his creation. I think this is suitable if not ironic to close with....The Evolution Continues...I think I read that somewhere recently...

Totally agree. Amen dude.

Amen! Even tho I don't know JJ personally, I do believe he deserves respect from most of us. If there was no JJ, then there wouldn't be o-review and our passion for the O.

I agree with some others about N ike. N ike is made by Marchon (opinion: thumbs way down) and now that their patent on Flexon expired (hence the birth of Nanowires) I would rather Luxottica or Safilo take Oakley than Marchon any day. Of course, no sale of Oakley is ideal, but I don't have OO shares, so my opinion is meaningless there.

oakley in the past lets say 15 years, somewhere around 1992 has had the mantality; "that is the craziest thing ive ever seen...... lets make it and sell it"! With a giant corp such as lux alot of the mantality is more along the lines of what will sell that will bring the highest profit. That scares me and most of the members here. I feel if oakley can continue to produce the strangest products as well as the traditional good looks then with the added funding we may be in for a treat.

Now, over the last few years i have noticed that a majority of the new lines and models from O, look alot like the current products that the lux brands offer. the vast array of bright reds, greens, blues and oranges have faded to brown, grey and dull natural colors. it almost seems to me that it is like a warm up for the merger.

If lux was smart they will take oakley to the wild unpredictable side that it once was and leave their current brands and leave the way they are, ( with a mild quality boost from oakley founded optics). since there will be no reason to compete for the fashion line of glasses any longer, why not capitalize on the fact that there is multiple sunglass stores in the mall. one has a dull variety(sgh) the other has the fashionable "paris hilton" look and the third has the crazy colored sports orientated line with the industrial natured cases and counters. i feel that the soft natural colored oakleys will blend in like butter at a high end fashion store with soft wood and dull colors, the xmetals and high powered edgey designs can stay at the o-stores and vaults. we all know that a girl/guy looking for the latest fashion is not going to the store with a metal counter and parts of old race cars to find a nice pair of shades, just as i, myself and many others here are not going into the pink botique to find the latest xmetal line.

Personaly i think that lux group has a 50/50 chance to make this work at a revolutionary scale. we all know its all about the benjamins here and if they do things right i think
all of our collections can get a little bit larger. As well as quite a bit cooler and more colorful.

lets take this thread and turn it to what would we like to see happen with the line and keep loyal to the brand until we see first hand what the lux owned product will be like.

NO MORE TYPING,
Andy

RIP Oakley.

Sorry guys, but Oakley as we know it is now history.

Ive been gone since friday for a weekend in an island, drank my a$$ off to oblivion and tried not to really be hurt and angry about this merging issue. Ive read the last 2 pages of this thread and it somewhat made me realize that we could be worrying too much too early. I agree with Dann on this issue being a long waiting game. I guess like Dann said, I could wait to see what this merging does to the products before I can really judge whether this has been a bad idea or good. Not to make this sound like Im kissing Dann's behind on this but he's also right about the other older models that we can turn to. Personally, I got 15 more custom X Metals to aquire before this year ends (incase this merging really proves to be a bad idea)

I'm really not glad to read about this deal, but like many of you said: money talks. I still try to think positive. Oakley has now much much bigger financial background. So this might result more cash for inventing new products, what we all are hoping.
There is also chance, that Oakley will continue its current operation and we won't even notice, that something has changed behind the scenes.

Like most of you guys, I'm really pissed that Oakley has sold -out, but lets not jump the gun too early. The sensible thing to do would be to wait and see what happens. On a positive note, perhaps things will be better. Until then, there's no point speculating and thinking the worst. If things do go pear-shaped though, my days of collecting the 'O' will be over and that will be very sad because I've only just started to build a nice little collection. That being said, I guess there's always other things to spend your hard earned money on...lets stay positive though.

Even if you get put off with the new Oakley items yet to be released, theres always a huge amount of older (now vintage) stuff you could continue collecting.

Oakley is your mom. Lux is her new husband. Sure you're going to hate him at first because, in your mind, he's a wife-beating loser but after awhile he buys you a sweet dirt bike starts taking you BMX races then you suddenly notice your mom seems happier than ever & she's started baking brownies from scratch again.

Sadly, this husband is filthy rich, controlling, scheming, has many wives and has a history of turning these wives into cheap whores.

Thanks for the laugh anyway Tick.

Tick...as always, you're right!

I totally agree wit everyone and I think everyone is on the same page with nt really knowing what's gonna happen. I know that there are a lot of guys on this site that know people at H.Q. and other high up places at OAKLEY, but I just recieved an e-mail earlier today from some I have been in contact with at H.Q. and in that e-mail he said that he was positie that I had heard what was going on and that he assured me (as what he states I am one of the brand loyalists) just as everybody else on this site, that nothing will be changing with the Oakley brand, and if there is a change, it will be for the better....it is a big positive and will allow them to do bigger things in the future..... I BELIEVE HIM!!!!!! I know that I will not walk away from Oakley..... I replaied back to him with a sence of relief..... If something was to happen it would be like me loosing one of my kids..... Let's give them and chance and stick together like we allways do... Seee what happens...........

yea...i see it as..."cant beat them, join them"....so it's a good thing. Obviously they see that our culture is working out. They see that Oakley must be doing something right. So hey, with the power of OUR product, and the power of their worldwide marketing strategies, the only way Oakley can change is for the better. It would be stupid for them to change things. They know that Oakley has those true supporters. At first I was really upset and was afraid of change. Now, I think that at least for now, our culture will stay the same. Hopefully it stays the same for a long time.

Its a shame that oakley basically sold out.
Im just waiting to see what happens in the future.
I think Lux has to know that if they get rid of oakleys extreme designs, oakley will lose a lot of its fanbase/customers.

Im really more worried for the millions of Oakley employees
who have been with the company for years, seeing dreams crashing down.

I want to believe that, yes, they've sold but not out

I think Lux has to know that if they get rid of oakleys extreme designs, oakley will lose a lot of its fanbase/customers.

Lux has already seen Oakley get rid of extreme designs itself. They also unfortunately saw that it lead to record sales/revenue levels and a drastic increase in share prices.

It makes me laugh when people talk (or write) like they really know Lux's business practices. They are a legitimate company that knows and understands Oakley's fan-base. Oakley has been on the cutting edge of design forever... Everyone knows it. Lux is NOT going to change Oakley into Stussy or some cheap Target brand... trust me. How do I know? Because I have the I.Q. higher than that of a salad bar. These people are in it to make money; and the way to do that is to avoid changing the company's structure. They bought Oakley because of it's success, not because it was failing. They will almost surely advertise more and put some serious resources into product development and take some away from sports marketing. After all... Oakley taught me that athletes wear the product not because they are paid to do so, but because IT PAYS TO DO SO.Remember that. Quit whining about quality and the "evil Lux" when you have no idea what the future brings and you are in the garage cutting lens with a $50.00 Dremel Tool. The O will not die... it's just being funded by a company with near unlimited financial resources.

I would have brought it in slightly different words (lol) but agree completely!
Change is not always for the worse...

Oakley into Stussy or some cheap Target brand

I believe lux owns target optical so maybe Oakley RX will Appear at your local target. target optical does carry ray ban.

Mike, you may or may not agree with what other members have been posting, but there's no need for insulting their intelligence or telling them to "quit whining." feel free to disagree with what's been said but please keep it civil.

that said, personally i can't speak for others but from what i've heard from first hand experience, Luxottica has done many companies wrong with their aquisitions... Sunglass Hut for example; i've heard too many bad stories from past and current employeed about their situation when they've got bought out. also Revo, Ray Ban, and Killer Loop when those happened as well.

Great words Bong. It isn't a matter of Lux's practices so much as it is the way of a corporate "Merger" like this. I personally have been through them, and when someone kicks in some cash like that to "Merge", they will have the say so and they will put in their 2 cents. There will be changes and it will be inevitable. What changes, well, we don't know yet, but they will come. Usually takes several months to a year before you see major change. Oakley has pretty much outgrown the facility at HQ hence the need to remove the NBA Basketball court. They are a growing company, but Lux has no base in apparel or accesories like Oakley is producing, so that would be an apparent target of change.

The focus is the "Sports" aspect of Oakley, which Lux doesn't have a huge base in. Yeah, they have the cheap sporting good store Revo line (sold in Big 5 stores all over for $19.99 and up) and Killer Loop can be seen here and there in volleyball tournaments, but they just don't "Have It" like Oakley. X Games, Moto X, Football (college & NFL), Winter sports, water sports, GOLF, Motorsports, and so many more areas. That is what they want out of Oakley, so just wait and see. I hope they expand the lines and improve things, but I see customer service dropping which is already an issue, and Lux's suck, or at least it did when I refused to pay $20 per pair for a warranty service on my crappy Arnettes that were a month old. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but as to having an I.Q. of a Salad Bar, well, I guess experience must represent a low I.Q. Let's just remain respectful and hope for the best of the situation.

Words of Wisdom, Josh.

This may or may not come to fruition, but this is what I forsee:

Lux has clearly demonstrated their propensity to generate revenue, but at what cost? Most would agree that the brands they 'acquire' only cheapen in order to yield the highest profit margin.

And this 'merger' (actually takeover - let's be honest: a person who picks up trash is not known or referred to as a 'sanitary engineer' - they're nothing but a GARBAGE COLLECTOR) is not a product of spontenaity by any means; it has been long planned. Now that the cat has been let out of the bag, we can trace back some probable origins of more recent changes within the O. Consider, for example, the "new" Oakley display towers (with the newer logo and almost 100% plexiglass) that most of us don't like - or that most of us don't like NEARLY as much as the standard "industrial-type" towers. Was this part of an image alteration to woo Lux into the purchase? Most likely. And I've noticed, too, that on the website the product "descriptions" seem to be a bit watered-down. The descriptions used to have a "no holds-barred, take-no-prisoners" mentality. Now, it seems that something is missing. To be more precise, it appears that the product descriptions have been made more "benign" to appeal to a larger target market - again, probably an indirect influence of Luxottica.

If these types of changes are at all indicative of the direction that the company will be headed, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be supporting the O. Although I don't personally like products like Overthetop and Medusa, I truly respected those products because they were the culmination of Oakley's Mad Science - outside of the box thinking. Lux could never come up with products like that. NEVER. And I don't forsee this "Mad Science" mentality or the "take-no-prisoners" attitude that has defined Oakley over the years as a priority of Lux. I could be wrong, and genuinely hope I am... but sadly, I don't think so.

One thing that tipped my curiosity was receiving the SGH mailer as usual, but noticing it was entirely Oakley. This was done before in the 90's before the fallout, but just seemed odd.

The new towers have glass shelves, but I'm nitpicking at that point.

for example, the "new" Oakley display towers (with the newer logo and almost 100% plexiglass) that most of us don't like - or that most of us don't like NEARLY as much as the standard "industrial-type" towers. Was this part of an image alteration to woo Lux into the purchase?

Unlikely... more of just change of image, a softening to help appeal to a broader market.

Look at it this way if you will... if GM or Ford were still selling cars with designs from the 90's do you think they would sell as many cars today. If you don't move and change with the times you'll get left behind. Toyota has kept up with current trends and now they are the biggest Car maker in the World

Oakleys Mad Science appeals to many, but I'd gather it would also turn as many off, to keep appeal to both you would have to soften that thought process, thus creating a greater appeal.

Also, i've been told from a reliable source that the new cabinets are being dropped due to the cost... something new is being considered.
And to expect more women's frames before the end of the year.