Sunglasses

Oakley Inc. said it would merge its half a dozen sunglasses outlets into a single brand as it focuses on optics. Most of the Foothill Ranch company's 110 mall-based stores would be consolidated under its Sunglass Icon brand. The change affects Oakley's Occhiali da Sole, Optica Sporting Eyes, Sunglass Club and Sunglass Designs chains. The company said that two Optica stores would be managed by Optical Shop of Aspen, a fashion-eyewear maker bought by Oakley in March.

Oakley Inc. said it would restate earnings from 2000 through 2005 to correct how it accounted for foreign currency hedging, trimming profit for this year. There is no cumulative change to net income for the periods affected, Oakley said. The maker of sunglasses forecast that profit for 2006 would drop to 68 cents a share, down from an earlier projection of earnings of 73 cents.

Seven years after marching into the fiercely competitive athletic footwear business, Oakley Inc. -- best known for its sunglasses and ski goggles -- has decided to walk away from it. The company also said Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 8%. The results were well short of Wall Street's expectations, and Oakley's stock dropped 6%. The Foothill Ranch-based company earned $9.2 million, or 13 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $10 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier.

Oakley Inc. is jumping into the electronic age with sunglasses that play music or work with cellphones as it targets gadget lovers who want more than just protection from the sun. The Foothill Ranch-based sports sunglasses maker plans this month to introduce its phone-ready Razrwire line, which works as a hands-free addition for Motorola Inc.'s popular Razr cellphones and marks Oakley's latest push into electronics, part of an effort to move into new markets.

All of the sunglasses provide 100% protection against UVA and UVB rays.

Cellphone maker Motorola Inc. and Oakley Inc. plan to make sunglasses that communicate remotely with electronic devices. Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola will install Bluetooth technology, which allows machines to speak to one another without a wire, in Oakley-designed sunglasses, the two companies said. Details of the first models from the joint venture are expected by the middle of this year, the companies said.

The pointed toe, sling-back Guccis caught Sormeh Salimpour's eye. The shoes were tempting, in the same shade of teal as the Gucci bag she got last summer -- and marked down to just $299. But the 19-year-old college student couldn't coax her mom into buying them on a recent excursion to Cabazon Outlets in Riverside County, no doubt because her shopping bags already contained Gucci loafers, D&G sneakers by Dolce & Gabbana and D&G tank tops.

Ray-Ban is promoting three styles of sunglasses "that represent the spirit of each angel" in the sequel "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." These designer shades will share the shelves with sunglasses from "The Matrix Reloaded" and will compete next month with Sama Eyewear's "Terminator 3" sunglasses. Promoting the use of sunglasses may be Hollywood's biggest contribution to the well-being of moviegoers.

Trendy sunglasses maker Oakley Inc. said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell 85% as costs increased and sales were less than expected. Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 dropped to $487,000, or a penny a share, from $3.26 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales rose 14% to $102.9 million, less than the company's initial forecast.

A federal appeals court Thursday barred Luxottica Group, the world's largest maker of luxury eyewear, from selling some sunglasses in the U.S. while rival Oakley Inc. pursues a claim that the products infringe its patents. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a trial court's December 2001 order preventing Luxottica from selling sunglass models with "Emerald" green or "Ice" blue tinted lenses.