Cooper Questions?

[Kt Templar]

Does anyone know if Cooper is now defunct? Have they decided to quit being a retailer and moved into manufacturing only?

What is their relationship with US Wings, do they have any common employees and what is the mechanism for Wings selling their old Indy Jacket and some of their A-2's (I believe).

 

[Fletch]

Way I heard it is USW bought Cooper outright.

USW is currently doing an inventory cleanout sale, but being cagey about it (private email and phone only). Rumor has it they're cleaning out their Chinese-made jackets, perhaps with an idea to go all American made.

That's all I know...

 

[Doctor Strange]

I'd love to be able to offer a proper answer, but after years of observation, things are a bit muddy to me.

I believe that at one time a few years back, Cooper made USW jackets and they were the same apart from the labels (and the V-shaped A-2 pocket flaps from both makers still look identical). This is why they have Cooper stock in their clearance sale. But more recently, I have seen comments from Sgt. Hack repeatedly that USW has its own factory and there's no relationship... but the jackets still look the same.

Legendary USA, who started up their own-named brand in the last couple of years, also look virtually identical and are comparably priced. Then there's Schott and Cockpit (formerly Avirex)...

My gut feeling is that there is a single NJ factory, or perhaps two, making military style leather jackets that are branded by several different makers. Whether that's the case or not, the fact remains that there are greater similarities than differences in the spec jackets from US Wings, Cooper, Legendary USA, Cockpit, Schott, etc. They're all in roughly the same price range and appear to be approximately the same. (While it's true that other makers elsewhere - Flight Suits, Taylors, Vanson, etc. - also make spec jackets, the New Jersey connection intrigues me!)

Anyway, I'd love to get a more authoritative answer from somebody on this!

 

[kojax]

i heard cooper got caught buying there jackets from china.....putting the cooper label on it......every thing you buy today is made in china very sad...........

 

[SGB]

i heard cooper got caught buying there jackets from china.....putting the cooper label on it......every thing you buy today is made in china very sad...........

According to Neal Cooper this is totally false, all their jackets were made in the US, at their factory in NJ. He was very upset about this rumor and called me to tell me it was false.
I am sad that Cooper is out of business, the last I heard from Neal was that they would be back in business again soon.....but that has been awhile.

SGB

 

[Fletch]

"Deny sparingly; confirm nothing." Sounds like a strategy for a secretive business. You see this all the time with small to medium scale makers and merchandisers of many types of product.

 

[John in Covina]

i heard cooper got caught buying there jackets from china.....putting the cooper label on it......every thing you buy today is made in china very sad...........

***********
For those that import, misrepresentation of the origin or an item sold in the USA is serious business, a company can get into a lot of trouble doing so.

China is a hard place to do business with and their quality control is often suspect at best. Large firms that import from China find that they need their people on the floor at the factory, to be watching materials and workmanship at all times to insure the lowest incidence of error.

 

[DutchIndo]

Cooper questions

With all that is being said about Cooper, how accurrate a repro are they ?
I bought one about 3 years ago only because a guy I know who owns WW2
Impressions bought one. I figure if he did there is a reason since research is a big part of his business. I believe he said they made them during the War. I came across this site a couple months ago while researching Trench Coats.
You guys are definately in the know about A-2s so I figure you guys would
know.

 

[Fletch]

WWII Impressions' web catalog offers a Cooper A-2 (looks like the "Raptor" model with one-way pockets) in medium brown goat for $300 (a lot, no?), and "price on request" for russet or seal brown horse.

They also advertise a G-1, B-3, and peacoat, all showing Cooper labels.

Cooper doesn't try to make real repros, but their workmanship and fit are good for the price point. I have their ANJ-2 "Hornet" which fits fairly trim (47" chest on a size L). It was $199 from Barre Army-Navy 3 years ago. The seal colored goat feels nice and has good grain, but is starting to show minor flaking at the elbows.

These guys claim to be the only webstore with Coopers in stock, but who knows how long that notice's been up.

 

[SGB]

"Deny sparingly; confirm nothing." Sounds like a strategy for a secretive business. You see this all the time with small to medium scale makers and merchandisers of many types of product.

I am completely confidant that Cooper made all their jackets in NJ, USA. To make anything outside the US and claim it's US made is stupid and illegal. False rumors are also annoying.
I asked Neil if they were having their jackets made outside the US and "finishing" them here for the Made in USA label, he angrily denied that accusation, and I believe him.

SGB

 

[Swoosed]

WWII Impressions' web catalog offers a Cooper A-2 (looks like the "Raptor" model with one-way pockets) in medium brown goat for $300 (a lot, no?), and "price on request" for russet or seal brown horse.

They also advertise a G-1, B-3, and peacoat, all showing Cooper labels.

Cooper doesn't try to make real repros, but their workmanship and fit are good for the price point. I have their ANJ-2 "Hornet" which fits fairly trim (47" chest on a size L). It was $199 from Barre Army-Navy 3 years ago. The seal colored goat feels nice and has good grain, but is starting to show minor flaking at the elbows.

These guys claim to be the only webstore with Coopers in stock, but who knows how long that notice's been up.

I got my first cooper from them. it was the same jacket. I love that jacket. The most comfortable one I own. Only problem is I lost a lot of weight and now it's too big. It is a xxl which is like a 48.

 

[Muzz]

Cooper's Back?

Looks like Cooper is back,

http://www.giftofwings.com/store1/productr.html

They're listed as a brand new USA collection. Is this an up to date site, or am I going to get an out of stock notice when I order?

 

[Doctor Strange]

As I said on the other Cooper thread, I suspect this is just an old page that nobody's updated. The prices are three years old, for starters. And Cooper's official site (http://www.neilcooperusa.com/), which was still viewable a month ago, is now gone.

But, as I said earlier in this thread, there are several *virtually identical* alternatives...