Vision East 2008

New York, NY - 4/14/08

North America’s largest eyewear trade show saw over 15,000 people descended upon the Javits Center in Manhattan, New York for the 2008 Vision Expo East. Oakley is always known for putting together innovative and successful booth areas and 2008 was no different with our largest footprint ever - an 80 x 80 location highlighted by the Rolling O Lab. By having the O Lab in the booth location key accounts were able to meet with their respective Sales Reps to go over the new eyewear lines and gain some education on Oakley’s approach to providing superior optics.

All the visiting accounts were very impressed with the new eyewear pieces within the Square O, Women’s and Rx lines. Oakley in the past few years has begun to really establish a strong and dominating presence in the lifestyle eyewear category. And the accounts are taking notice of the hard work that our Brand Managers and Designers have put into growing this category for the brand. Standout pieces at the show were the Inmate for Square O, Ravishing for Women’s and the always-popular NanoWire with version 4.0. Additionally, a preview of the NEW high end polarized line and three NEW Ophthalmic collections received great praise as well. Accounts loved all the new products and placed a record number of sales orders!

The biggest factor that truly separates Oakley from our competitors on the show room floor at Vision East is the incredible presence and education the Rolling O Lab provides. Ryan Evert, Rolling O Lab Manager and his team of seven hard working crewmembers pumped 825 visitors through the Research and Development Lab. “It really is amazing to witness Oakley’s dedication in producing the best eyewear,” said one key account from New York. “You don’t understand how much the competition falls short in developing proper eyewear until you take this tour of the O Lab.”

In the end Vision East 2008 was a true success for Oakley and our key accounts. And many people need to be thanked for their hard work in making this year’s show so impactful – Becky Wilkinson, Amy Ezell, Tim Drnec, the Sales Force, Rolling O Lab Crew and Brand Managers stand at the top of that list.

Words & Photos: Matthew Murray