New Era Cap, LLC

Who owns New Era Cap?

The Koch family controls New Era Cap, LLC, with fourth-generation Chris Koch as CEO. ACON Investments holds a significant minority stake, and MLB, the NFL, and the NBA hold small equity positions.

Is New Era publicly traded?

No. The company explored an IPO reportedly targeting a $4 to $5 billion valuation in 2023 but remains privately held.

When was New Era founded?

Ehrhardt Koch founded the company in Buffalo, New York, in 1920 as the E. Koch Cap Company, renamed New Era Cap in 1921.

Does New Era own '47?

Yes. New Era completed the acquisition of '47 in August 2024, creating a combined company generating approximately $2 billion in annual revenue while operating both brands independently.

What leagues does New Era supply?

New Era is the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball since 1993, holds exclusive NFL sideline cap rights since 2012, and holds NBA headwear rights, plus hundreds of additional licenses across global sports and entertainment.

Where are New Era caps made?

Most production is contracted to factories in Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh. MLB on-field caps are made at the company's Miami, Florida facility.

Ehrhardt Koch founded the E. Koch Cap Company in Buffalo in 1920 with $5,000 borrowed from his aunt, producing 60,000 caps in year one with 14 employees. Renamed New Era Cap the following year, it made Gatsby-style caps and workwear headwear for industrial Buffalo.

Second-generation leader Harold Koch steered toward baseball from 1953, building relationships with major league clubs. The 59Fifty fitted cap design dates to 1954, and third-generation leader David Koch modernized manufacturing and sales through the following decades.

The defining deal came in 1993: New Era won the exclusive license to produce on-field caps for every MLB team, making its product required equipment. Hip-hop adoption through the 1990s and 2000s turned the fitted into a fashion object, and a 1996 collaboration with Spike Lee created the sports cap as collectible.

Chris Koch became CEO in 2001 and built the licensing empire: exclusive NFL sideline rights from 2012, NBA on-court rights, global expansion, flagship retail, and a collaboration model producing weekly limited drops. The company's revenue grew past $1 billion.

An IPO exploration in 2023, reportedly targeting $4 to $5 billion in value, did not proceed. Instead the company consolidated: the August 2024 acquisition of '47, the Boston rival founded by the D'Angelo family, combined the two largest licensed headwear brands into a roughly $2 billion revenue company operating both brands independently.

The company's sustainability profile is modest, with recycled material adoption in portions of its range and a cap take-back program in some markets. It holds no B Corp certification and publishes limited standalone sustainability reporting.

Labor practices across Asian contract factories follow the industry norm of supplier codes of conduct and audits. Its most material ethics dimension is the licensed-product supply chain common to all major league licensees, where league labor standards and the company's own vendor policies apply.

New Era's most durable recognition is structural: the 59Fifty is the only cap designated as official on-field equipment by a major US sports league, and the company's simultaneous MLB, NFL, and NBA exclusives constitute a licensing record no competitor has achieved.

The brand's collaborations appear regularly in fashion press coverage, and its cultural position bridging sports, music, and streetwear has been recognized across the industries it touches. Its century of family ownership is itself unusual recognition in an industry dominated by corporate ownership.

Derby plant closure: The 2019 shutdown of its Derby, New York factory eliminated more than 200 union jobs, drawing political criticism given the company's Buffalo identity. The Miami facility retained MLB on-field production.

Counterfeiting: The logo's recognizability makes New Era among the most counterfeited headwear brands, an ongoing enforcement issue managed through legal and customs programs.

Exclusive pricing: Fans periodically criticize rising cap prices under the exclusive licensing model, a demand-side debate rather than regulatory action.