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Oakley was started by Jim Jannard in 1975 in his garage with an initial investment of $300. The name "Oakley" came from Jim's English Setter, "Oakley Anne". Jannard began by selling what he called 'The Oakley Grip' out of the back of his car at motocross events. His motorcycle grips were unlike other grips available at the time.
- Unobtainium and The Oakley Grip
- Hitting The Track and Slopes
- The First Oakley Sunglasses
- Original Frogskins and The Introduction of Lifestyle Sunglasses
- Blades and Mumbo
- IPO and Luxottica Acquisition
- Introduction of X-Metal
- Modern Day Oakley and Prizm Lenses
- Final Thoughts
In 1975, James (“Jim”) Jannard, an avid motocross fan, wanted to increase the grips on motocross bikes. At the time motocross handles were covered with plastic which became slippery, especially when wet or muddy. Looking to solve this problem Jannard created a unique rubber material he coined Unobtainiumin the back of his trunk. Using Unobtainium, ...
As the first foray into eyewear, Oakley released The Oakley Goggle. With only a few colorways available, it was originally designed for dirt biking and motocross, leveraging the market their grips had built. They soon followed up with the O Frame and Pro Frame. Shortly after in 1983, Oakley made the logical step into Ski Goggles with the O Frame. L...
In 1984, Oakley released the O Wing grip, which would become its last original grip. This period began Oakley’s focus and efforts on eyewear. Starting with their first pair, the Oakley Lite, followed shortly after by the Factory Pilot Eyeshades. Both pairs leveraged large visor-like lenses and full-frame designs made specifically for sports. These ...
In 1985, Oakley released the Frogskins – their first lifestyle frame on the market. A competitor to the already popular Ray-ban Wayfarer, they were the first Oakleys to feature a dual-lens design. Prior to this, all frames featured visor lensesas mentioned above.
Along with the Frogskins, the 1980s brought in new innovative sports frames from Oakley. In 1985, they released the Blades, one of the pioneers of sport-specific shield lenses. The Blades were soon followed up by the Mumbo in 1989. Introduced in a very limited run these would eventually become the M Frame (short for Mumbo Frame). Through the 90’s a...
In 1995, Oakley raised $230 Million during its IPO on the NYSE. Then only a year later Oakley ended up in a pricing dispute with Luxottica, who at the time was already the largest eyewear manufacturer and retailer. Luxottica ultimately pulled Oakley’s from the shelves of its stores including SunglassHut, Lenscrafters, and more. In 2001 and in respo...
In 1997, Oakley introduced the first X-Metal sunglasseswith the Romeo. Jim Jannard who believed in disruptive design throughout Oakley’s history, wanted to create a pair of sunglasses out of titanium. In his own words from our Q&A on the forum with Mr.Jannard: The Romeo was followed soon after by the Mars, XX and eventually the Oakley Julietamong o...
Many Oakley collectors see the IPO as the turning point in Oakley history. Eventually, over time the X-Metals and disruptive designs faded. Obviously, Jim Jannard is no longer in charge, though the company still retains their Foothill Ranch bunker and innovative culture. When asked how he is still involved with Oakley, Jim Jannard responded: In pas...
Oakley’s history has been full of twists and turns. And there are plenty of other frames, shoes, apparel, innovations, and features that dictate Oakley’s history over the years. But ultimately all of this history and more has led to the sunglasses on your face. As we look to the future, we hope to see the return of disruptive design and innovation ...
It was 1975 when he left his sales job behind in order to start bringing some of his ideas to life and begin building a brand of his own. Using his English Setter as the namesake (Oakley Anne), he began the journey of what would evolve into the most iconic sports eyewear company the world has known.
Oct 28, 2020 · A Q&A with Oakley’s Founder Jim Jannard Himself covering everything from Starting the company to his least favorite Oakleys! In 2013, Jim Jannard, founder of Oakley, (somehow) found his way onto our small corner of the earth here at OakleyForum.com. He took the opportunity to answer some questions from the community.
Apr 24, 2024 · The company's story began in 1975 when James Jannard started Oakley out of his garage with an initial investment of just $300. Jannard named the company after his dog, an English Setter named Oakley Anne.
The year was 1975. It was the beginning of Oakley Inc. (NYSE: OO), a technology company that would soon be fueled by a raging distaste for mediocrity and a fierce devotion to innovation. Today, Oakley is driven to seek out problems, create solutions, and wrap those solutions in art.
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Jun 28, 2022 · It all started in 1975 with “The Oakley Grips,” which were motorcycle grips unlike any other. The grips performed so well because of the attention to detail and eye for future trends that James had from the very beginning.
