The snowy winter hitting the region’s ski slopes appear to have gotten the attention of Oakley Inc.; it is heading to the mountains.
The Foothill Ranch-based eyewear and accessories brand this month announced partnerships with 18 ski resorts in North America, to equip riders with goggles, eyewear, outerwear, helmets and accessories.
Its partner mountains include: Alterra Mountain Co.’s Mammoth Mountain, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, June Mountain, Big Bear and Snow Summit, as well as Vail Resorts’ Vail, Beaver Creek, Whistler Blackcomb, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Stowe, Afton Alps and Mt. Brighton.
Oakley will also outfit staff and park crews with merchandise while selling its performance googles and eyewear at existing resort retail shops, as well as set up a permanent shop at Lake Tahoe’s Squaw Mountain.
Oakley North America’s Senior Vice President Justin Andrews said in a statement it’s excited about the “new partners that will allow us to integrate our innovative technologies and products into the year-long mountain experience.”
The deal’s not just for the snow-goers. The year-long partnership will include Oakley’s support of activities such as cycling, golf, mountain biking, trail running and fishing.
Other marketing efforts planned for the year are branding throughout the mountain, special events and dedicated Oakley Week experiences.
It will also demo its Prizm lens technology, which is engineered to enhance detail and help provide ultra-precise color tuning for environments such as snow, golf and water.
Oakley, founded by Jim Jannard, one of the wealthier businesspeople in Orange County, has been a subsidiary of Luxottica Group since 2007.
Fresh Threads
Real-world experience in launching a retail shop is back for fashion students at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.
The school’s fashion department brought back its on-campus pop-up shop The Box with merchandise from Alternative Apparel, the Atlanta-based apparel and accessories manufacturer known for its cotton and eco-fleece basics. Alternative Apparel’s shop will be open until March 21.
The store—housed in a shipping container—also featured merchandise earlier this month from Huntington Beach-based apparel and accessories brand Cleobella, known for its boho pieces and handmade leather goods sourced from Bali.
There will be a number of events and panel lectures held at the shop throughout the semester.
The Box is funded through a statewide grant titled “Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy” that tasks community colleges with finding innovative ways to help students gain hands-on learning experiences. It debuted last year. Students were responsible for creating everything from the logo to booking local brands, as well as creating trend reports as part of a laboratory-type class.
Each company is able to outfit the space as needed, bringing in their own furniture and artwork, while gaining exposure and sales among OCC’s roughly 23,000 students.
Bits & Pieces
Fans of Adult Swim’s animated cult show “Rick and Morty” can throw on a pair of Stance socks inspired by the science fiction cartoon. The San Clemente-based sock and underwear label partnered with Cartoon Network to release a “Rick and Morty” collection last month. One pair of socks features Rick, Morty and aliens while the second pair features images of chicken nuggets and Szechuan dipping sauce—an inside joke for fans of the show. The socks retail for $16 and $18 per pair, respectively. … Irvine-based inbound marketing agency SmartBug Media named Jennifer Tolkachev public relations strategist and team lead. Tolkachev will lead the company’s PR department while helping to create new business opportunities. She previously served as creative director for Irvine-based consulting firm Sprout Creative. … Cypress-based performance swimwear manufacturer TYR Sport Inc. re-signed a number of athletes on its roster including Kelsi Dahlia, Ashley Twichell, Michael Chadwick, Leah Smith and Jacob Pebley.
