Oakley to Enter Basketball Footwear Category; Signs Basketball Shoe Development Contract With NBA Rookie Shane Battier.

Business Editors

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001

Executing on its plans to further penetrate the athletic footwear market, Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) today announced the signing of the sixth pick in the NBA draft, Shane Battier, to an exclusive one-year development contract for basketball shoes.

Battier intends to play his rookie season in Oakley prototype shoes that have been specially designed for him. Battier's tremendous experience and on-court achievements will augment Oakley's research in performance technologies to produce the company's second sport-specific shoe model, adding to its current array of footwear offerings. Battier's attorney Lon Babby of Williams & Connolly of Washington D.C., and Oakley President Colin Baden, jointly announced the deal today.

"With a U.S. market size of approximately $2 billion, basketball is the largest category in the athletic footwear industry today," noted Baden, "and it represents a new area of opportunity for Oakley to demonstrate its performance innovation capabilities. Shane's entry into the NBA has been highly anticipated because he is recognized as one of the most fundamentally sound and talented new players in the league. We'll use his expertise as a research tool to balance the equation of our development program," Baden concluded.

Baden described Oakley's program as a comprehensive study that begins with lab analysis at the company's California research facility and ends with validation by sports professionals in the field of competition. With this method, the company combines standards of performance testing from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), as well as the Shoe and Allied Trades Research Association (SATRA), with on-court evaluation by career pros. "It's the same methodology that brought us success as a leading manufacturer of performance eyewear," Baden continued. "In a crowded market, it allows us to make clear distinctions of critical performance advantages that set Oakley products apart from the industry."

"I'm excited to have been chosen as the first NBA player to work with the highly creative minds at Oakley in developing a basketball shoe. There is no doubt in my mind that through our collaboration we will develop a high performance shoe that will reflect the high standards of both myself and Oakley," commented Shane Battier.

"Sports marketing has always played a key role in the way we develop products for professional athletes," commented Oakley Vice President of Sports Marketing Scott Bowers. "It all began in 1980 with our first motocross riders. As we moved into the sunglass business, Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong used our products for cycling. Their multiple Tour de France wins further authenticated the Oakley brand. When we expanded into golf, we used the expertise of David Duval. When we pioneered our baseball-specific eyewear, we had the help of baseball greats Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken and today we continue to work with several MLB players including Alex Rodriguez, Barry Larkin, Jason Giambi, and Ichiro Suzuki. As we focus our technologies to create performance footwear for basketball, our affiliation with Shane will underscore our shared passion for the sport and validate our drive to achieve genuine innovation for this key performance tool."

The consensus national college basketball player of the year, Battier won both the Naismith and John Wooden awards in 2001 and was named MVP of the 2001 National Championship Game. A three-time national defensive player of the year, Battier was the first player in ACC history-- and fourth in college history-- to finish with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 blocks, 200 assists and 200 steals. He is Duke's all-time leader for career steals (266), second in career blocked shots (254), third in three-point field goals (246), third in three-point percentage (.416) and tied for eighth in points scored (1,984). Battier will start his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Oakley plans to launch its performance basketball shoe in fall of 2002 through its growing network of footwear accounts. As of today, the company's footwear products are sold through approximately 4,700 locations around the world.

About Oakley Inc.

Oakley: An original, unexpected and innovative world brand. Building on its legacy of market-leading sunglasses, the company offers expanding lines of premium performance footwear, apparel, accessories, watches and prescription eyewear to consumers in more than 70 countries. Trailing-12-month net sales through September 30, 2001 totaled $432.4 million and generated net income of $56.8 million -- a 13.1 percent net margin.

Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company's Annual Report are available at no charge through the company's Web site 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 "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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: risks related to the company's ability to manage rapid growth; 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 to increase production volumes in a timely fashion in response to increasing demand and enable the company to achieve timely delivery of finished goods to its retail customers; the ability to provide adequate fixturing to existing and future retail customers to meet anticipated needs and schedules; the dependence on eyewear sales to Sunglass Hut, which has recently been acquired by a major competitor and, accordingly, has sought to alter its relationship with the company and could further alter or terminate such relationship; the company's ability to expand distribution channels and its own retail operations in a timely manner; the capacity of distribution channels other than the sunglass specialty channel to recover sales lost by changes in the company's relationship with Sunglass Hut; unanticipated changes in general market conditions or other factors, which may result in cancellations of advance orders or a reduction in the rate of reorders placed by retailers; continued weakening of economic conditions could reduce demand for products sold by the company and could adversely affect profitability, especially of the company's retail operations; the ability of the company to integrate acquisitions; the ability to continue to develop and produce innovative new products and introduce them in a timely manner; the acceptance in the marketplace of the company's new products and changes in consumer preferences; the ability to source raw materials and finished products at favorable prices to the company; the effect of the California power crisis on the company's operations; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; and other risks outlined in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and other filings made periodically by the company. The company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information.