The French Rugby Federation has taken its former equipment supplier Le Coq Sportif to court, demanding 5.3 million euros in unpaid debts, FFR president Florian Grill told AFP on Wednesday.
The French brand, in financial difficulty, had been the FFR’s equipment supplier since 2018, and has just been replaced by Adidas. Le Coq Sportif also equipped the French delegation this summer at the Paris Games.
“They owe us 5.3 million euros in sponsorship contracts, unpaid royalties and late payment interest,” explained Florian Grill.
The company’s representatives are summoned to appear before the Paris Commercial Court on September 27.
“We have made several plans to settle the Coq sportif debt,” added the head of the FFR. “None of these plans have been respected and we have reached a point where we are assigning them to compulsory liquidation. If they want to get out of compulsory liquidation, let them pay us.”
A loan of 2.9 million euros
“When we arrived at the federation (in June 2023, Editor’s note), we already had more than 4.6 million unpaid bills,” he explained.
In the 2023 financial year, Le Coq Sportif’s turnover fell by 20 million euros to 121.442 million euros, associated with a loss of more than 28.25 million euros that the parent company, Airesis, attributed to a repositioning in the footwear sector. Airesis posted a loss of 36 million Swiss francs (37 million euros) in 2023.
In May, Le Coq Sportif received a loan of 2.9 million euros from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organising Committee for the “supply of sports equipment” for the competition, its parent company indicated in a financial report revealed by the daily L’Equipe.
“We have had a lot of trouble with the shoe over the last three years, which has led to difficulties and somewhat negative results,” Marc-Henri Beausire, CEO of Le Coq Sportif, admitted on BFM Business on Wednesday.
“Today, all these categories are working extremely well,” added the Swiss leader, explaining that there has been growth in textiles of 20 to 30% since the Games. “We expect it to be even stronger in 2025.”
