NEW ERA, THE LEGENDARY BRAND OF AMERICAN CAPS
The story begins long before the arrival of the mythical NY cap, at the end of the 1800's when the German brothers Erhardt and Christopher Koch emigrated to the USA, in the suburb of Buffalo, New York. After several years in the (hat) manufacturing business and a few failures, the elder Erhardt founded his own hat company in 1920 with the financial help of his aunt: the E. Koch Cap Company was born. The business was a great success and in the first year the company produced 60,000 caps, including the famous woolen gavroche cap, which became a popular accessory for the men of Buffalo. In 1922, the family business decided to change its name to the New Era Cap Company. His only son Harold Koch joined the company in 1925 when he was just 17 years old.
"QUALITY FIRST, QUANTITY LATER”
The young Harold Koch soon brought a new lease of life to the millinery business. Conscientious, he followed his father's guiding principle of producing only the highest quality caps to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. Harold became an increasingly important part of the company and introduced many innovations to the caps produced by New Era. He invented, for example, a new system of sewing in the cap (the part that covers the head) that eliminates the need to join the flaps by bending them, thus making the cap more aesthetic and more refined. It was also he who introduced the fabric headband system, which made it more comfortable (the standard at the time was leather headbands). He continued to develop the headband by improving the fit of the visor and by manufacturing a system that absorbs perspiration. New Era will give birth to what will quickly become the reference of the American cap.
But time passes and fashion changes. In the 1930s the market ran out of steam and the company was forced to change. At that time, baseball was gaining in popularity and became the favourite pastime of Americans. Harold became interested in this sport where players were already wearing caps to protect themselves from the sun. The young man then had the idea of making specific caps for these high-level sportsmen. The first caps for professional baseball appeared. New Era began equipping the Cleveland Indians in 1934. From 1940 onwards, the American brand expanded this new business despite the growing competition and created caps for major and minor baseball teams. New Era constantly improved its model over the following decade.
1954 was a landmark year for the company as it marked the birth of the 59FIFTY cap that would make New Era world famous. The 5950 represents all of New Era's expertise: Quality, Authenticity, and Identity. The model is easily recognizable thanks to its particular shape characterized by a flat visor and a 6-panel cap (made of 6 different parts) that has a rounded shape. More than just sun protection accessories, the 5950 caps became over time a real fashion accessory that could be found on everyone's head far beyond the sports field. With the growing success, in 1974, 20 National Baseball League franchises were equipped with New Era caps as well as astronauts (yes, the 5950 cap even went to the moon). Since 1994, the 5950 is the official cap of the American baseball leagues. Throughout its history, New Era has developed and marketed a number of unique designs.
Since the New Era Cap Company's inception in 1922, four generations of the company's caps have been sold in 40 countries, licensed to 220 different sports teams, including the iconic New York cap and the Bulls cap. Each year, approximately 30 million New Era hats are produced. As a true representative of American sports and lifestyle, New Era has remained a popular brand while preserving the creativity and quality that has characterized the brand for over 90 years.