Initially, football was more a passion than a business for Charles Lagayette and Jean-Damien Ladeuil. The first worked at JP Morgan in London, the second in consulting at the Boston Consulting Group in Paris. Six years later, the two friends are at the head of nine centers SoFive across the United States, including two in the New York area. ” It all started in 2015 with the opening of a first complex in Carlstadt, New Jersey. We had no experience in the sector, but we realized that 5-a-side football was reaching maturity in Europe, unlike the United States where soccer is developing at high speed and infrastructure is lacking, ” explains Charles Lagayette.
Founder of Five in France, one of the leaders in the sector, Jean-David Tartour made the same analysis before opening Socceroof in Brooklyn in 2018, a rooftop/bar space that has ten lots on the roofs of the city. ” The new football markets are Asia and the United States. Americans are becoming more and more passionate about soccer and the local championship, the MLS, is gaining credibility ».
A business model different from France
After three years of experience in New York, Socceroof decided to step up a gear in September, announcing the opening of two new centers in Long Island City (Queens) and Crown Heights (Brooklyn). SoFive first developed in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 2017 before opening a complex in the East New York district of Brooklyn the following year, then two in Maryland in 2018 and 2019.
« Socceroof’s results in New York are currently very positive in terms of business, even if the activity is both richer and more complicated than in France”, summarizes Jean-David Tartour, who is associated with Jérôme Meary on the case, another French player’s agent between the two countries. “In France, we made 90% of our turnover on football, and the rest on the bar. Here it’s 60% on one side and 40 on the other. The social aspect with bar, catering and events is essential. You have to think of the space as a real place to live, that’s why we chose this place with a large rooftop and a beautiful view of Manhattan”.
“Indeed, we also had to adapt by including a good part of food & drinks in our offer to SoFive, confirms Charles Lagayette. More generally, we were lucky to be able to quickly count on the Hispanic community, which has habits and a passion similar to ours in Europe. There is also a very high share of young people in the use of our facilities, through clubs and academies ». In France, the majority of clubs play for free on municipal grounds, while in New York, it is often a rat race to find an available stadium. ” In particular, we welcome the Manchester City academy and local clubs who reserve their pitch over several months,” details Charles Lagayette.
The relationship of Americans to football, or rather to soccer, is also different on the other side of the Atlantic. ” When you return to Socceroof, you come across three frescoes representing the jerseys of Maradona, Pelé and Zidane. I am regularly asked who these players are.. It may come as a surprise at first, in reality football is seen more as a hobby than as an unconditional passion here”, says Jean-David Tartour. ” You have to adapt, educate, sometimes explain the rules, the positions of the players on the field, the teams and professional players to follow. But we feel that the socio-cultural aspect of football is taking hold. »
Strong investors to get through the Covid crisis
The Covid-19 epidemic put a halt to the activities of Socceroof and SoFive, which were forced to close their doors in New York in March 2020, before being able to reopen gradually from the summer. ” We tried to get through the period as calmly as possible. Fortunately, our historical investors have experienced other crises in the past, and were able to give us a lot of advice,” explains Charles Lagayette.
SoFive raised two million dollars in 2015 for its first center with the help of Alain Lebleu, a Frenchman who made his fortune in real estate, and that of former Lyon and then New York Red Bulls striker Peguy Luyindula . The brand also has some influential friends, such as the former president of the New York Red Bulls and AS Monaco Jérôme de Bontin. Socceroof has raised two funds for its three centers at the rate of one million dollars per venue, with equally prestigious investors such as the president of Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux and the former international past Bayern Munich Bixente Lizarazu .
« The share of rent in New York weighs much more in activity than in France. We had to find solutions with our landlord during the crisis which, fortunately, helped us », confides Jean-David Tartour who works with a real estate consultant to negotiate prices and find new places. ” It is clearly necessary to be an expert in real estate to succeed in this profession. We couldn’t have done anything without the precious help of Alain Lebleu”, adds Charles Lagayette.
“The HR part is the key to this industry »
The two entrepreneurs were also able to take advantage of New York State aid to get by during the Covid, with the obtaining of a PPP, a subsidized loan intended for staff. It is moreover in their collaborators that Lagayette and Tartour also explain the success of their business. « Experience has taught me that the best center managers are those who started with us and worked their way up. », believes the co-founder of SoFive. We are in a field of passion above all. First of all, you need people who love what they do and live football as intensely as we do”. Socceroof manager Jonathan Lupinelli is also French and a former top player. ” It is the men who make the decisions and move the business forward, so you have to know how to surround yourself », approves Jean-David Tartour.
Socceroof wants to continue its march forward in 2022 by opening its fourth center at the start of the year. “It would be more comfortable to stay in New York because we know the market and our brand is now known and credible. But at the same time, we would like to export to another city to show that we can do it and enhance our brand”. Jean-David Tartour checked off the names of Boston and Montreal, two “cold” cities » where an indoor five-a-side football center would make even more sense.
The SoFive brand has just joined forces with the famous City Football Group, including owner of Manchester City and NYC FC, by becoming co-shareholders of their four centers Goals located in Southern California. “We have taken over the management of their establishments, says Charles Lagayette. They saw in us this operational, field expertise. It is a great pride to be associated with such a prestigious group, and to develop ourselves on the West Coast. We are very ambitious and do not intend to stop there. »
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