Le Coq Sportif: Dan Mamane wins the match and chooses Alexandre Fauvet as CEO

The new owner of Le Coq Sportif is known. The brand, owned since 2005 by Marc-Henri Beausire’s Swiss group Airesis, is now the property of the consortium led by the Franco-Swiss Dan Mamane.

The Paris Business Court ruled in favor of the proposal put forward by the entrepreneur who made his fortune in technology equipment and recently turned around the business of Conforama Switzerland. At the end of an extensive competition for a project of this size, the project won out over that put forward by the consortium led by the turnaround company Neopar and backed by Iconix, Xavier Niel, and Teddy Riner, and which also included Marc-Henri Beausire in its ranks.

The sports brand, founded in 1882 by the Camuset family and which has garment workshops in the Aube region, was the French Olympic and Paralympic team’s outfitter for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and will also be outfitting French athletes for the next Winter Olympics.

Confronted with major financial difficulties, despite several state-guaranteed loans in recent years, the company, which posted sales of 82 million euros, up 30% in the first half of 2024, and a net loss of 18 million euros, was placed in receivership last November.

Major partners

Dan Mamane is not, of course, alone in building the project selected by the Paris court. He is backed by the Mirabaud Patrimoine Vivant investment fund, which in the past took a minority stake in Le Coq Sportif under the aegis of former French Minister of the Economy Renaud Dutreil.

The brand will be entrusted to Alexandre Fauvet, a former Lacoste executive who was recently CEO and minority shareholder of premium alpine brand Fusalp. In a press 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.”

A large-scale partnership, but for what project? “The plan validated by the court aims 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 euros in 2030 (compared with 122 in 2023) and “a return to sustained profitability.”

To achieve this, 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.”

“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,” explained Mamane in the consortium’s press release.

“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.”

As rumors have suggested in recent weeks, the French industrial aspect seems to have weighed heavily. The buyer explains that the historic workshops in Romilly-sur-Seine, a few kilometers from Troyes, will play an important role in the strategy, which aims to bring together creative, industrial and strategic functions, whereas the company previously had major offices in the heart of Paris. The Romilly-sur-Seine site will become a true reference center for textile innovation, high-end production, and the circular economy. It will also house a research and development center, enabling the integration of the most advanced technologies in terms of design, materials, and responsible production.”

All the expertise of the new CEO, Fauvet, will be needed to deploy this approach to the product, at a time when the brand has been confronted with delicate seasons in terms of sales to both French and international multi-brand customers.