Sports goods manufacturer Le Coq Sportif placed under bankruptcy administration

Business

Le Coq Sportif has equipped the French national team for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Credits: Pauline Scotto di Cesare/ Le Coq Sportif

The sports equipment manufacturer Le Coq Sportif has been placed under judicial restructuring proceedings by the Paris Commercial Court.

"Le Coq Sportif is relying on this procedure to respond to the challenges facing the brand while protecting its 330 employees and hundreds of indirect jobs," parent company Airesis said on Friday.

The troubled company said in October that it was looking for "financing solutions". Airesis, which owns 75 percent of Le Coq Sportif, said the equipment manufacturer had "applied to the Paris Commercial Court to open judicial restructuring proceedings".

"This application was examined by the court at a hearing, which confirmed judicial restructuring with a six-month observation period on the basis of going concern," the statement continued.

Loss-making years

“This restructuring phase is also an opportunity for the company to initiate and conclude discussions with new investors and strategic partners in order to permanently secure its operations and strengthen its business model,” the company explains in detail.

Airesis stressed that "the objective 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, while preserving and enhancing the French industrial know-how that makes up the brand's identity."

According to the financial results for the first half of the year published at the end of September, the group reported a loss of 18.2 million euros, compared to a loss of 10.5 million euros in the same period last year and a loss of 28.2 million euros for the whole of last year.

Loan from the Olympic Committee

Le Coq Sportif, which supplied the French national team at the Olympic Games, also received a loan of 2.9 million euros from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee in May 2024, of which 150,000 euros had yet to be repaid on September 30. The group had also received a loan of 12.5 million euros from the French state in July through BPI France Assurance Export.

The company is further involved in a legal dispute with the French Rugby Federation (FFR), which is demanding 5.3 million euros in outstanding payments from its former supplier.

"The Board of Directors of Airesis SA is working closely with the appointed insolvency administrators to examine all possible options to maintain business operations and ensure the continued existence of Le Coq Sportif," the parent company said in its statement on Friday.

The group also states that it is "assessing the impact of this situation on its consolidated financial results for the current financial year and will inform its investors shortly about the evolution of this situation and possible future financial decisions."(AFP)

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. It was translated to English using an AI tool called Genesis and edited by Rachel Douglass..

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