Luxottica Group

United States Shoe Corp. lost a U.S. Supreme Court appeal Tuesday that it called a test case for thousands of companies seeking $700 million in interest on the refund of a federal harbor tax on exports. The company said at least 7,500 companies sought refunds after the justices struck down the federal harbor maintenance tax on exported goods in 1998.

Oakley Inc.'s stock moved up Tuesday amid bullish comments from executives and an analyst at a stock conference. The executives reiterated projections that the Foothill Ranch company's revenue should grow 20% this year, but said the gains could surpass that estimate if Oakley continues to gain market share in its core sunglasses business. Oakley's revenue totaled $363.5 million last year.

Sunglass maker Oakley Inc. said Wednesday that strong global sales pushed earnings up 67% to a record, exceeding analysts' projections for the fifth consecutive quarter. The Foothill Ranch company's upbeat performance came despite the generally rocky retail environment and growing caution among consumers. "You have to start thinking that maybe this company is more recession-proof than we thought," said Eric Beder, an analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co..

Eye frame manufacturers are teaming up with celebrities and designers to sell consumers on a new notion: It's un fashionable to own only one pair of eyeglasses. Now, clothes designer Giorgio Armani is plunging into a field already crowded with celebrity name tags to sell more eyeglasses for an Italian frame maker. "They're looking for strategies to get consumers to buy more than one pair," said Marc Ferrara, editor of Optical Index, a trade publication.

Trendy sunglasses maker Oakley Inc., feeling the effects of a sluggish economy and a feud with its biggest customer, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit fell 66% on lower sales. The Foothill Ranch company said earnings should climb this year, now that its dispute with Sunglass Hut's owner has been patched up, but will rise less than analysts were expecting because of sluggish sunglass sales.

Sunglass maker Oakley Inc., regaining ground lost in a dispute with its largest customer, said Thursday that second-quarter earnings slightly beat analysts' expectations. With demand strong for its sunglasses and other products, Oakley also boosted its profit expectations for the year to 83 cents a share, which would be a 15.3% increase from 2001. Earnings in the quarter slipped to $22.3 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with $23.

Bausch & Lomb Inc.'s chief executive, William Carpenter, resigned Tuesday and was replaced by William Waltrip, the man he succeeded at the eye-care company's helm in 1997. Carpenter said he was leaving for personal reasons, but his departure comes as the company is seeing slowing demand for contact lenses and laser eye surgery equipment. "For myself, I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family and utilizing my talents in new directions," he said.

Oakley Inc., ending a costly feud, said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to resume sales of its trendy sunglasses through the Sunglass Hut International chain owned by rival Luxottica Group. The Foothill Ranch company, which saw its sales evaporate at Sunglass Hut stores after Italy's Luxottica purchased the chain in April, said Sunglass Hut once again will become Oakley's biggest customer, boosting earnings and sales next year.

He doesn't own a soccer team or TV stations, hasn't been photographed yachting off Sardinia, and remains untouched by the corruption scandals that have rocked Italy the past three years. * Leonardo Del Vecchio certainly isn't your typical high-powered Italian industrialist. The man the Italian media calls "Mr. Nobody" for his low profile has built an empire in an out-of-the-way Alpine village, turning Luxottica Group S.p.A. into the world's leading manufacturer of eyeglass frames.

It's a new year filled with old problems for retailers, which are expected to report later this week that sales gains in January were skimpy to nonexistent -- possibly the weakest on record. That could lead some major chains to lower profit forecasts and add fuel to recession predictions. How bad was it? Sales were "near flat," the International Council of Shopping Centers predicted Tuesday.