Oakley Up 11% in First Quarter

MILAN, Italy (BRAIN)—Sales of Oakley eyewear increased 11 percent in the first quarter of the year, helping drive parent company Luxottica to double digit growth in revenue and profitability.

Oakley’s largest market, North America, continued its strong momentum in the quarter, contributing to Oakley’s success, said Andrea Guerra, CEO of Luxottica during a conference call with financial analysts on Thursday.

In the wholesale business there is still much room for the company to recover in North America from the economic downturn, Guerra said.

“On the Oakley side and the Luxottica side we’ve had two very efficient commercial reorganizations in the past 12 to 15 months,” he said. “Today is positive. There is good optimism, good efficiency and there is good passion around the business.”

Companywide, Luxottica reported net sales of 1.5 billion euros in the first quarter, up from 1.3 billion euros for the same period last year, or an increase of 11.8 percent. Growth was led by North America and emerging markets. Sales were up 10.1 percent in North America, representing the 5th consecutive quarter of accelerating sales. Sales doubled in China in the first quarter, and were up more than 20 percent in the Eastern European countries plus Russia and Turkey.

Net income was up 20.6 percent.