The New Era Cap Company is an American headwear company that was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1920. New Era has over 500 different licenses in its portfolio. The Company is headquartered in Buffalo, New York, and its products are sold in more than 125 countries.
Video New Era Cap Company
History
In 1920, Ehrhardt Koch borrowed $5,000 from his aunt and started his own cap company, the "E. Koch Cap Company." Production started on the third floor of 1830 Genesee Street in Buffalo, New York. The company started with 14 employees, including Ehrhardt's sister Rose, Ehrhardt's son, Harold, and Rose's son Wally Domas. In 1920, the company produced 60,000 caps.
In 1934 New Era's first Major League Baseball (MLB) caps were produced: the Cleveland Indians home and away caps. New Era's motto was "Quality First, Quantity Will Follow".
In 1954 New Era's fitted pro cap was modernized, redesigned and named the 59FIFTY, aka the "Brooklyn Style" cap, by Harold Koch, who introduced many design improvements and innovations while head of New Era.
In the early 1960s Harold and David Koch called for the end of New Era's private label business for the McAuliffe, Stall and Dean brands, a challenge that would take most of the 1960s to meet. To win the business of its competitors, incentives were offered including cap cleaning and reconditioning. By 1965, New Era was supplying caps to about 10 of the 20 MLB teams.
In 1979, New Era tried a direct marketing tactic. The company ran an ad in The Sporting News offering pro fitted baseball caps to anyone who sent in a check or money order for $12.99. The response was overwhelming and helped shape the future of the fan-driven pro licensing business.
In 1993, New Era was granted the first exclusive license with MLB to produce the on-field baseball caps for all teams. It had been 59 years since Harold Koch secured the Cleveland Indians as their first one-year account in 1934.
In 1996 filmmaker Spike Lee personally requested a red New York Yankees cap from New Era, starting both a fashion trend as well as a long relationship with New Era. The ability to make caps in colors outside major leagues' style guides opened the door for the biggest era in New Era history and the entry into the lifestyle and fashion category.
In 2001, Chris Koch was named CEO and began an era focused on global expansion and building the New Era brand name across sport and lifestyle segments.
In 2007 the 59FIFTY cap underwent the largest redesign to date, the innovation team worked with suppliers and engineers to develop a cap that keeps the wearer cooler, dryer and eliminates staining. The company then underwent a massive "market clean-up" of all older product. This trend of innovation and improvement would continue with the introduction of the purpose-built Diamond Era cap in 2013.
In the 2010s, while New Era had long been associated with baseball, the company focused on delving into football and other sports leagues. In 2012, it acquired full exclusive sideline rights for the National Football League (NFL). In 2013, New Era signed with Big Bash League as their official cap provider. New Era signed an additional deal in 2015 with Manchester United.
It was announced on August 13, 2016, that New Era and the Buffalo Bills reached an agreement for naming rights for Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills and New Era officially announced the stadium's new name of New Era Field five days later, on August 18, 2016.
In 2017, New Era signed exclusive rights for NBA on-court product. This made New Era the first headwear company to have exclusive rights for MLB, the NFL, and the NBA simultaneously.
New Era will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020.
Maps New Era Cap Company
Labor history
New Era has had two labor situations in its 88-year history. One in 2001 with the Communications Workers of America, and another in 2007/8 with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Cap recalls
In the summer of 2007, New Era voluntarily pulled three styles of New York Yankees hats from shelves across the country because the designs on the caps were seen to be gang-related. There were three caps that stood out; two with a bandanna like pattern around the top and one with a gold crown. Brian Martinez, an NYPD detective involved with Peace on the Street said "Bandannas represent gang flags," "New Era is making it really convenient for gang members, because now your flag is part of your hat." The patterns on the hats were similar to the flags of the Crips, the Bloods and the Latin Kings. Much of the New York public protested about the caps and in response to these allegations, a New Era spokesperson stated that the company does not market to gangs and when notified by activist groups and public officials, the company took immediate action.
See also
- 59Fifty
- Baseball cap
References
External links
- Official website
- Official European website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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