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MEDIA & MARKETING
A marketing push for Oakley Inc.'s women's sunglasses helped boost sales at the Foothill Ranch-based company in the first quarter.
Sales rose 7% to $152 million. That included a 12.3% increase in sales of optics, including the company's first women's collection and sales from Los Angeles-based Oliver Peoples Inc., which Oakley recently bought.
Still, the new shades didn't offset higher operating expenses and lower margins, which contributed to an 80% decline in profits to $1.9 million.
Oakley is set to refocus on shades and scale back on clothing and shoes.
The company is on the right track, said Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray Garret & Co.
He said the sunglass maker's "integrated drive" to increases sales to women by rolling out new shades got off to a strong start.
"Unlike prior periods, when the company would just introduce a line with limited support, the women's offering was a highly integrated campaign," Beder said.
The push included a preadvertising campaign to hype the line, a new display case, the creation of a women-specific Web site and new casing and packaging for the shades, Beder said.
"We believe this level of support and marketing muscle is new for Oakley," Beder said.
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