Oak Oak

I am so out of touch. I thought Oakley (the company) is strictly sunglasses (hubby has a few pairs). I was browsing online and happened to chance upon Oakley watches too. They even have shoes and apparel available to the buying public. I was curious so I decided to look it up. And here's what I found on Wikipedia:

Oakley was started by Jim Jannard in 1975 in his garage with an initial investment of $300. 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 riders had seen at the time.

Although the grips were successful, brand recognition was limited as the grips were usually concealed by the riders' hands. In 1980, Jannard released a pair of goggles called the O-Frame. With the 'Oakley' logo present on the strap, onlookers began to recognize the brand. In 1984, Oakley introduced a pair of sunglasses called the Eyeshade, which were made of plastic and featured removable lenses. They were popularized by Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and other professional cyclists. Oakley continued to introduce new models of sunglasses, including the Blades, Razor Blades, Frogskins, and the Mumbos, which eventually evolved into the M-Frame series of glasses.[2]

Oakley signed a four-year agreement to manufacture eyewear designed by it and Fox Racing in September 2004. These products are sold as the Fox Eyewear brand.[3]

In 2006, Oakley acquired the Oliver Peoples group, a manufacturer of high-end fashion branded eyewear.

On June 21, 2007, Italian group Luxottica announced a plan to merge with Oakley in a cash deal worth $2.1 billion, and the deal was completed on November 15, 2007. Oakley is now in the portfolio of Milan-based Luxottica group, along with other brands such as Ray-Ban, Persol, and Vogue.[4]

Good Golly Ms. Molly! The $300 initial investment made baggillion gazzillion dollars for the Oakley creator! That's wayyyyyyyyyyyy more money than I can ever imagine having in my lifetime (err, make that 20 or so lifetimes)!