I wonder why it's necessary to have an American made Epiphone? Why not continue to brand these models Gibson? It can't possibly be for the same reason it was done in the sixties so why start doing it again?
Because a Gibson EB2 would have to cost twice to trice as much to maintain brand image and therefore probably wouldn't sell very well. Yes there's the Tributes, but a hollowbody costs more to make. They can make it work with volume easier than with high price but little sales.
E.G. (CA$) a Gibson ES-335 is 3k and an Epi Dot is <600. They can see they're selling a shit tonne of Dots. The proper Gibby ES is profitable to, but this way they can diversify their strategy and use the Epi line to get production economies of scale to benefit the Gibson line.
Also, there is a case to be made that there is a bigger nosatalgia factor with the Rivoli than the EB2 (British invasion - those fans are Gibson/Epiphone's main customer base; then the post punk era with the reissues were popular).
Anyway, gotta start saving up.
Who knows - the new management seems to be more reasonable and customer/market feedback oriented than I-know-best Henry J; if the Rivoli does well I bet they will do an EB2 (but it will cost 5k). Probably an EB2D to help differentiate it, though lord knows what pups they'd use.