ORANGE 21 Inc. announces acquisition of O’Neill Eyewear license

Orange 21 Inc., the American parent company of the Spy Optic brand, and O'Neill are pleased to announce the important license agreement starting 2010 for the design, development and worldwide distribution of the eyewear line by the well-known Californian brand and for the development of special lines of sunglasses and snow goggles.

Passion, commitment and style in action sports are values that are shared by these two important companies and are at the basis of this collaboration.
Since 1952, O’Neill has been a fixed point on the panorama of technical apparel for board sports, whereas since 1992 Orange 21 has been producing and selling premium products for action sports and the lifestyle market under its main brand, Spy Optic.

The O'Neill sunglasses and snow goggles collections, officially presented at ISPO 2010 (Munich, February 2010) and MIDO (Milan, March 2010), will be distributed through O’Neill retail stores and by the network of retailers existing in other distribution channels.

“Thanks to O'Neill’s strong link with the beach and snow worlds, the eyewear line is a natural extension of the brand and, given the Spy Optic brand’s past fifteen years of success, the skill of Orange 21 experts will make it a benchmark in action sports”, Michael Neil, Global Head of Development & Licensing at O’Neill, said enthusiastically.

Stone Douglass, CEO of Orange 21, stated: “The union of two major brands is not just a success story in a difficult economy; when the wetsuit brand leader gets together with a leading action sports eyewear brand to produce its own line, the collaboration is also a sign of the high level of respect and expertise. Because of the Orange 21 and O’Neill brands’ reputation for quality products, we expect this new project to be a great success”.