Le Coq Sportif has declared bankruptcy

Le Coq Sportif, one of the oldest sports brands in France and Europe, has entered bankruptcy proceedings at the Commercial Court of Paris. This unfortunate news was announced some time ago, given the many financial problems of the brand with the Rooster, now 75% controlled by the Airesis group, which acquired the shares in 2005. "Le Coq Sportif is relying on this procedure to respond to the challenges that the brand must face, protecting its 330 employees and hundreds of indirect jobs" reads the official statement. A decision made necessary by the company's unsustainable financial situation, as it was unable to repay the loans requested from the Paris 2024 Olympic Committee for 150,000 euros that were still due on September 30th. The group had also received a loan of 12.5 million euros from the French government in July through BPI France Assurance Export.

Le Coq Sportif was the technical sponsor of the French Federation at the Olympic Games at home, thus gaining some visibility through its collaboration with designer Stéphane Ashpool, and would like to start again from that success as confirmed by Airesis, which emphasized that "the goal is clear: to build on the success of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which have already demonstrated Le Coq Sportif's ability to act as a global brand, preserving and enhancing the French industrial know-how that constitutes the brand's identity." However, the financial results for the first half of the year, published at the end of September, are not positive, with a loss of 18.2 million euros, compared to a loss of 10.5 million euros in the same period of the previous year and a loss of 28.2 million euros for the entire previous year.

Furthermore, Le Coq Sportif is involved in a legal dispute with the French Rugby Federation for an unpaid payment of 5.3 million euros, which led to the termination of the sponsorship contract. A fate that could also befall the other agreements still in place with football clubs. At the moment, the brand produces kits for various French teams, particularly Nice and Troyes, which are already looking for a new sponsor (Nice is expected to switch to Kappa). A bitter ending for a historic brand that has linked its name and its unmistakable logo to the world of sports, from the first yellow jersey for the Tour de France to the blue and white uniform with which Maradona won the 1986 World Cup, to the kits worn by tennis players Yannik Noah and Arthur Ashe or by the many sponsored club teams in Europe and Italy, the last of which was Fiorentina in the 2019-20 season. Now we will have to see if all this tradition will disappear or if there will be a way to save Le Coq Sportif.