Luxottica, Oakley’s parent company, is headquartered in Italy. Its corporate headquarters are in Milan, although the company was founded in 1961 in Agordo, in Italy’s Veneto region.
Luxottica became one of the world’s largest eyewear companies through vertical integration: it designed, manufactured, distributed and sold frames and sunglasses through its own brands and retail businesses. It acquired Oakley in 2007, bringing the American sports-eyewear brand into its portfolio alongside Ray-Ban, Persol and other names.
A common mix-up is confusing Luxottica’s Italian corporate headquarters with the headquarters of its retail division, which has been based in Mason, Ohio. Another source of confusion is the 2018 merger with France’s Essilor, which created EssilorLuxottica, a Franco-Italian group. That merger did not make Luxottica an American or French company; Luxottica itself remains the Italian eyewear business behind Oakley’s ownership history.