Some Misconceptions Cleared Up On Oakleys From China.

[Sunglass Shack]

I'm an engineer, if you're wondering. Overly specific to the point of social awkwardness

Holy cow I feel your pain on that. I design using CAD (for 15 years) and kinda can understand fully what you mean by that.

EDIT: by that I mean I tend to be a perfectionist, like to a heavy extreme. Since everything can be perfect in a CAD based program I try to make things in my world just as perfect as that. I over analyze everything because of it and normally can't sleep well because I can't shut my brain off at nights and stop thinking.

2nd EDIT: To be truthful to your points I just edited this a 2nd time because I didn't like where the word above "EDIT" was in the sentence. So I hit Enter twice to give it some room away from the first statement. ....issues?

I completely understand your point of view and comments. What I heard I have heard from a couple reps and the e-mail I was reciting was someone with 30+ years in the sunglass business. I wa sjust taking information I deemed to be factual (and who knows somehow it could be) and passing it along. But I agree, if something isn't right stop it before it becomes known as facts, ie.: religion ;-)

 

[Batwolf]

I have never personally admitted it until now, but as many members may have figured out, I did indeed work for Oakley for nearly 4 years.

When these production change occurred, there was a statement in our weekly company newsletter about how production on wire frames were moving to China. Their statement included that they had been made in China for some time but new regulations regarding the "Made in USA" statures were changed, forcing them to label the frames as such. So it's half true, frames made overseas and lenses produced in America. This comes with the label you see now, Made in China Assembled in California, USA.

As many of you now know, this also applies to many womens frames (some are also made in conjunction with other Luxxotica styles in Italy) and NOW many if not ALL lifestyle pairs and select sports pairs.

I asked if we could get an explanation about why the production change was put in place and why frankly they were NOT telling employees why the frames no longer had Made in USA on the frames. I asked my store manager AND tried getting a hold of the District Manager to get an answer because our particular store saw a huge backlash of returns after many customers noticed their frames didn't say Made in USA.

I never got an answer before I was ultimately fired from the company. After talking to many friends still in the business, neither of them have gotten an answer yet either. To say that Luxottica has nothing to do with it is nothing short of a farce. Having been an employee of the company and a long time fan/collector, things quickly changed after the acquisition.

This is in response to many retailers and people on here who claim to be employees (Playmaker) who still claim the products are made in the USA but never provide any proof. Just like how I couldn't get proof or information when I actually worked for the company. Lenses are made in USA, frames are not. But to claim the entire product is Made in the USA is preposterous, Assembled in USA is the correct term.

 

[Sunglass Shack]

Thanks for the great follow up! In the end quality can be made to high standards no matter where the plant is located. If you can make a product with high quality but half the costs by moving it to China it would be hard to not do this. Especially if you are Luxottica and not even an American based company. What is their interest in keeping the product Made in America when they're not American.

 

[Batwolf]

I think the issues people (including myself) have is when you are ultimately paying more now for an inferior product compared to before. Prices keep going up and you're getting a lesser product.

You can thank Luxottica for that.

 

[Sunglass Shack]

Yeah, I agree to that statement 100%. But in the end, from the companys standpoint I think it is not a bad move. You have a product in very high Worldwide demand. Like I said before, if I order 100 frames 40 of them are on backorder because they just can't keep up production with sales. So you have a product they can't make fast enough and people don't seem to have any issues paying for, so I think if I was in their shoes I'd do the same thing. Increase retail costs, decrease production costs and figure out which private island you want to buy. Not a good thing from the point of view of the customer but I assure you an extra $30 or $40 added to the cost of some frames won't stop them from being sold. And even if it stops 10% of sales, they made enough up in higher costs on the other 90% that did buy. It's a smart business move, just nothing the customer wants to see. I agree there needs to be a point there where it doesn't get ridiculous. I mean a pair of Radars in black with black iridium polarized lenses for $260 retail? That just seems a little high to me, but ya know what? People pay it.

 

[Lexkempo]

I think a double blind fit/wear test would/could/should be in order to test out China vs. USA ...

 

[o8b]

Thanks everyone for sharing, interesting stuff!

 

[OakleyGuru379]

Yeah, I agree to that statement 100%. But in the end, from the companys standpoint I think it is not a bad move. You have a product in very high Worldwide demand. Like I said before, if I order 100 frames 40 of them are on backorder because they just can't keep up production with sales. So you have a product they can't make fast enough and people don't seem to have any issues paying for, so I think if I was in their shoes I'd do the same thing. Increase retail costs, decrease production costs and figure out which private island you want to buy. Not a good thing from the point of view of the customer but I assure you an extra $30 or $40 added to the cost of some frames won't stop them from being sold. And even if it stops 10% of sales, they made enough up in higher costs on the other 90% that did buy. It's a smart business move, just nothing the customer wants to see. I agree there needs to be a point there where it doesn't get ridiculous. I mean a pair of Radars in black with black iridium polarized lenses for $260 retail? That just seems a little high to me, but ya know what? People pay it.

I know it was a smart business move... But it doesnt make it hurt any less.

 

[Twitch]

Dang I'm loving this thread. Keep it coming guys. Thanks!!

 

[oogie]

I don't think there is much debate on lenses still made in USA, frames made in China, assembled in USA. I know for myself, and like many, a big impact is in the o matter frames. They feel different, flimsy, lesser quality. It may have been a different story if the manufacturing change to china for o matter produced frames not so easily distinguished from our prior frames. But the tangible difference creates some momentum of concern for the brand and its future.