The Noël group has regained the license for the Umbro brand in France. Noël, a company involved in children's, men's, military and safety shoes, had licensed the brand for many years. Umbro International then took over the operation, called Noël Soccer, in two stages, starting with a 49 percent stake in 2007 and ending with 100 percent control in 2011. Nike bought Umbro in 2008 and sold it at the end of last year to Iconix Group, which has now signed a licensing deal with Noël, effective on Feb. 7. Patrick Noël will supervise the Noël Soccer subsidiary aided by Guillaume Reux, in charge of marketing, product and quality control; and Philippe Volpi, in charge of sales.

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