For those that wondered where Jon Epstein would surface again, their questions were answered last week as the former Fila and adidas executive officially announced the creation of Le Coq Sportif North America, an operating company set up to manage the Le Coq Sportif brand in the U.S. and Canada after a long hiatus from the market. The timing looks to be right for the re-emergence of Le Coq as a number of other premium labels such as Puma, Le Tigre, and LaCoste perform well in both boutique and specialty channels.

The Le Coq Sportif license for North America is now owned by trading powerhouse Itochu International, which also owns the Le Coq IP in Asia. The business will be managed by Le Coq Sportif North America.

Sports Executive Weekly caught up with Mr. Epstein last week to discuss this latest venture with a brand he said he has known “somewhat intimately” for 20 years. Epstein said he believes there is a real desire in the marketplace for brands like Le Coq that have a “storied past”. He said the entry point for LCS will be at the top tier, but will have real balance across the line, from $150 kangaroo leather soccer boots to top-of the-line sportswear.

“There are few brands in this category that can match Le Coq Sportif’s sports heritage and lifestyle cachet” said Mr. Epstein in a release. “We look forward to achieving the same level of success in North America that the brand has experienced throughout the rest of the world.”

Itochu reportedly did more than $50 million in Le Coq business in Japan last year and saw the building potential in the U.S. market. Epstein said the brand had approximately $35 million in U.S. sales at its peak.

Epstein is the majority owner of Le Coq Sportif North America and has partnered with Paul Milone, formerly of Diadora and Lanzera, and Danny Lieberman. Epstein said that Milone also has a “significant interest” in the business. Jon said he will be running the footwear side of the business, while Danny leads the apparel effort and Paul heads up the performance end of the brand.

Epstein said they intend to become a “sales and marketing machine” and will outsource many of the operational functions. Jeanne MacPherson, who was in operations at Diadora and Lanzera, will coordinate the operations functions for LCS NA. They also retained former Fila sports marketing chief Howe Burch to run the marketing side of the business through his firm, twelve.

The mix in product and personalities has had Epstein and the team on the road the last few weeks pre-lining goods at a diverse group of retailers from boutiques to luxury retail to soccer specialty.

The first product is expected to land in the U.S. market in the June/July timeframe at a select group of retailers, with the full roll-out scheduled for Spring 2006 delivery.
Epstein told SEW that the apparel piece is a straight license and that they will be working with Itochu to develop and source trend-right product for the market. The footwear piece is set up as a distribution deal, but he said he expects to be working closely with the French from the early development stages on forward.

Part of Epstein’s passion for the LCS opportunity is due to his history with adidas and Horst Dassler. The Le Coq Sportif brand was officially trademarked in 1948 and became the official supplier to the Tour de France in 1951. The brand was acquired in 1974 by adidas-France and Horst Dassler, who also owned the Facconable and Arena brands at the time. The relationship with adidas put Le Coq into the footwear business. Epstein said the brand really suffered after the death of Mr. Dassler in 1987, who had taken the reins at adidas after the death of his father in 1978. The brand was sold to Brown Shoe in 1995, which had little positive impact on the brand. It was then sold in 1999 to a group headed by Olivier Jacques, who is now chairman of Le Coq Sportif International. Epstein told SEW that some of the same people that were at LCS with Dassler are back with the brand today.

“We are very excited about the enormous potential for Le Coq Sportif in North America”, said Jacques. “With our performance authenticity and exceptional design sensibility, and the highly experienced management team of Itochu and Le Coq Sportif North America, we believe we are well positioned in these markets for long-term growth.”

The LCS North America team sees the business comprised of about 75% lifestyle product in the initial stages, but Epstein said the performance side has been a pleasant surprise. He also said, that end of the market is always looking for fresh product and LCS has raised some eyebrows. The line will probably land with women’s making up 60% to 65% of the initial roll-out. Epstein said this is primarily “due to the way we selected product,” stating that it was “an easier entry point”. LCS is showing apparel in a “limited way” and will initially land accessories and track tops, which have been strong from a number of euro sports brands of late.

Le Coq Sportif International is based in Sausheim France where the company designs its footwear, apparel and accessory products. Le Coq Sportif North America will be based in New York City where it will maintain its corporate offices and showrooms at 551 Madison Avenue. The LCS team expects to be working appointments at the Project Show in New York and Las Vegas and will do the Venetian suite thing at WSA.

>>> While many have chased the Puma success story, few have been able to maintain brand integrity in the face of potential orders from the big guys. Keeping it special here will be the key…