Le Coq Sportif, in receivership, has been acquired by a group led by Franco-Swiss entrepreneur Dan Mamane. The new investors have committed to investing an initial €70 million (US$82.1 million) into the company to revive its growth.
Le Coq Sportif has been owned since 2005 by Marc-Henri Beausire’s Swiss group Airesis.
Mamane’s consortium is backed by the Mirabaud Patrimoine Vivant investment fund, which has previously taken a minority stake in Le Coq Sportif.
Alexandre Fauvet, a former executive vice president at Lacoste and previously the chief executive of skiwear brand Fusalp, will serve as Le Coq Sportif’s new CEO.
In a media release, the consortium also stated that the “project includes the support of the Japanese group Itochu, owner of the brand in Asia, as well as that of Udi Avshalom, a “world-renowned sneaker expert and former COO of Adidas, who will take on the position of global brand strategic advisor.”
In the statement, the group said it plans to “reposition Le Coq Sportif as a benchmark international brand in high-end sports and lifestyle. The ambition is to achieve sales of €300 million in 2030 (compared with €122 million in 2023) and a return to sustained profitability.”
The brand will “develop its offer, with a new segmentation around four universes: sportstyle, sport heritage, lifestyle chic, and technical performance. Distribution will be rebalanced between the selective network, e-commerce, marketplaces, and affiliated stores. Internationally, the ambition is clear: to triple the share of sales outside France by 2027.”
Mamane said in the release, “After some difficult years, Le Coq Sportif needs to regain its influence and desirability, and that’s what our project is all about. It is based on strong convictions and the assets of this emblematic brand: a French brand, unique textile know-how, a precious territorial anchorage, and immense potential for reconquest. We will give back to Le Coq Sportif the means to innovate, to seduce world markets again and to assert itself as a reference of French style and sport.”
The Paris Commercial Court chose Mamane’s bid over a consortium led by French family investment fund Neopar and backed by businessman Xavier Niel. The rival consortium fronted by Neopar, a vehicle of the Poitrinal family that is focused on turning around struggling companies, had offered €60 million to take over the iconic French brand. Also supporting the rival bid were U.S.-based brand aggregator Iconix, French judo champion Teddy Riner, as well as Marc-Henri Beausire, the current head of Airesis, and the Camuset family, founders of the brand.
Le Coq Sportif was placed into receivership in November 2024 due to high debt levels and losses. In the first half of 2024, the brand reported a loss of €18.2 million, compared to a loss of €10.5 million a year ago and a loss of €28.2 million for the whole of 2023. The company’s revenues in the first half rose by 30 percent to €82 million.
Le Coq Sportif’s struggles came despite winning the apparel contract for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Team France. Le Coq Sportif received an emergency loan of €2.9 million from the Olympic organizers to support that deal in May 2024, of which €150,000 was still outstanding as of September 30, in addition to a €12.5 million loan from the French government, which the company undertook in 2023.
The sports brand, founded in 1882 by the Camuset family, will be outfitting French athletes for the next Winter Olympics.
The brand is also involved in a legal battle with the French rugby union’s FFR governing body, which is seeking to recoup €5.3 million it claims its former kit supplier owes it.
Images courtesy Le Coq Sportif
