PARIS – Le Coq Sportif, the French athleticwear company that provided the uniforms for the country’s Olympic team, has been placed in receivership.
Swiss parent company Airesis, which owns a 75 percent stake in the brand, has applied for judicial restructuring at the Paris Commercial Court. The company will undergo a six-month observation period under court supervision as it seeks to find financial solutions.
Airesis sait it is looking for new investors and strategic partners to shore up the beleaguered brand, which has faced months of losses despite its prominent placement at this summer’s Olympic Games.
“The objective is clear: to capitalize on the success of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which has already demonstrated Le Coq Sportif’s ability to be a global brand, while preserving and enhancing French industrial know-how, true pillars of the brand’s identity,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
“Le Coq Sportif is using this procedure to respond to the challenges facing the brand, while wanting to protect its 330 employees and hundreds of indirect jobs,” it added.
In a trading update Oct. 30, the company announced that Le Coq Sportif was facing “significant financial pressures, particularly in terms of cash flow, with the months of October and November being particularly exposed.”
It said it is trying to capitalize on its presence at the Games to boost international growth, particularly in the U.S., as well as expand its footwear range with a new product strategy.
Despite the high visibility of the Olympics, the company known for its rooster logo has faced consecutive quarters of losses.
In the most recent financial results posted Sept. 30, Airesis reported a loss of 18.2 million euros in the first half of 2024.
In September, the French Rugby Federation sued Le Coq Sportif for 5.3 million euros in unpaid fees from jersey sponsorship. At the time, the federation’s chair Florian Grill said he would request a court-ordered liquidation of the company after several restructuring plans failed to materialize.
The federation subsequently switched from the homegrown label to German brand Adidas for its sponsorship.
Le Coq Sportif won the contract with the Olympics in March, 2020, but faced months of trouble leading up to the event.
In 2023, the company took out a 12.5-million-euro loan from the French government, followed by an emergency loan of 2.9 million euros from the Paris 2024 organizing committee to ensure delivery of the uniforms as it faced cash flow challenges.
