Motorola and Oakley Join Forces on Product Development for Communication Devices
Libertyville, Illinois and Foothill Ranch, California (ots/PRNewswire)Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Oakley, Inc. (NYSE: OO) today announced a joint venture to introduce new and exciting Bluetooth(TM)-enabled wearable wireless communications devices.
Motorola is collaborating with Oakley -- the leader in eyewear design, technology and innovation -- to fuse Motorola's latest Bluetooth technology with Oakley's advanced eyewear concepts. Details and designs are set to be unveiled by mid-2005. Company executives said their mutual objective is to deliver evolutionary and innovative products for consumers who want hands-free, untethered operation of their electronic devices.
"Motorola's continuing leadership in Bluetooth technology has opened up unique relationship opportunities with key lifestyle brands such as Oakley," said Bruce Hawver, Companion Products Group vice president and general manager, Motorola. "That's the power of our joint venture -- it allows us to reach out to new and different types of users of the technology -- enabling seamlessly mobile wireless communications anywhere and everywhere consumers want to be."
"By teaming with Motorola, we're dramatically expanding the possibilities for our new electronics category," said Cos Lykos, Vice President of Business Development. "Oakley's engineering team now has an expanded technology arsenal to develop new and innovative electronic products."
About Motorola
Motorola is a Fortune 100 global communications leader that provides seamless mobility products and solutions across broadband, embedded systems and wireless networks. In your home, auto, workplace, and all spaces in between, seamless mobility means you can reach the people, things and information you need, anywhere, anytime. Seamless mobility harnesses the power of technology convergence and enables smarter, faster, cost-effective and flexible communication. Motorola had sales of US$27.1 billion in 2003. For more information: http://www.motorola.com.
About Oakley, Inc.
Oakley: a world brand, driven to ignite the imagination through the fusion of art and science. Building on its legacy of innovative, market-leading premium sunglasses, the company also offers an expanding line of premium performance footwear, apparel, accessories, watches and prescription eyewear to consumers in more than 100 countries. Trailing-12-month revenues through September 30, 2004 totaled US$548.9 million and generated net income of US$34.8 million. Oakley, Inc. press releases, SEC filings and the company's Annual Report are available at no charge through the company's Web site at http://www.oakley.com.
Oakley 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. Such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to growth and strategies, future operating and financial results, financial expectations and current business indicators are based upon current information and expectations and are subject to change based on factors beyond the control of the company. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "might," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. 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 successful development, launch and sale of products developed under joint ventures; the company's ability to manage rapid growth; risks related to the limited visibility of future sunglass orders associated with the company's "at once" production and fulfillment business model; 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 and the company's internal production operations to increase production volumes on raw materials and finished goods 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 is owned by a major competitor and, accordingly, could materially alter or terminate its relationship with the company; the company's ability to expand distribution channels and its own retail operations in a timely manner; 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 weakness of economic conditions could continue to reduce or further reduce demand for products sold by the company and could adversely affect profitability, especially of the company's retail operations; further terrorist acts, or the threat thereof, could continue to adversely affect consumer confidence and spending, could interrupt production and distribution of product and raw materials and could, as a result, adversely affect the company's operations and financial performance; the ability of the company to integrate acquisitions and licensing arrangements without adversely affecting operations; 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; reductions in sales of products, either as the result of economic or other conditions or reduced consumer acceptance of a product, could result in a buildup of inventory; the ability to source raw materials and finished products at favorable prices to the company; the potential impact of periodic power crises on the company's operations including temporary blackouts at the company's facilities; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; earthquakes or other natural disasters concentrated in Southern California where substantially all of the companies operations are based; the company's ability to identify and execute successfully cost control initiatives; 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, 2003 and other filings made periodically by the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information. Nonetheless, the Company reserves the right to make such updates from time to time by press release, periodic report or other method of public disclosure without the need for specific reference to this press release. No such update shall be deemed to indicate that other statements not addressed by such update remain correct or create an obligation to provide any other updates.
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Web site: http://www.motorola.com
Contact:
Shannon Swallow, Director, Global Consumer PR of Motorola, Inc.,
+1-847-668-7086, shannons@motorola.com; or Gar Jackson, Director
Investor Relations of Oakley, Inc., +1-949-672-6985,
gjackson@oakley.com; Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020415/MOTNOTAGLOGO
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