Analysis Of Under Armour

Under Armour, Nike and Adidas are the top three brands known worldwide. These three companies were able to gain a strong brand to make a name for themselves in the sports apparel market today. On the other hand, Under Armour has become one of the top leading distributing companies to offer athletic apparel, footwear amongst many other things. “In 2013, Under Armour had a 14.7 percent share of the U.S market, compared quite favorably with Nike’s 27 percent market share and Adidas’s 7.4 percent market share.” (C-50) However, the company’s path of success can come crashing down as you take a look

Part of the process involved in commitments such as the one Under Armour and the U.S. Speed Skating Team have, is the opportunity to work hand in hand with one another. Multiple tests, and tryouts are performed until both parties get to a point where satisfaction is accomplished. In this case, too much time, efforts, resources and money was invested in developing the suits the U.S. National team wore for the Sochi Olympics that it is hard for them to switch providers from one day to the next.

Athletic apparel has come a long way from the era of pairing a dowdy gray cotton sweatsuit with tennis shoes. Now, athletic apparel promise to hug the body with materials that insulate the wearer from cold weather, while wicking away sweat to boost performance. Running shoes can be synced with computers to measure performance. Other advances in sports apparel include tagless T-shirts and fabrics that manage odors. Technological advancements allow manufacturers to maintain or increase prices and keep consumers loyal to their brands. Consumers have responded to the high-tech offerings, with athletic apparel sales reaching $60 billion in 2008, according to NPD Consumer estimated data. In this report, we analyze two apparel

Companies like Under Armour, Nike and Adidas/Reebok have high threats of substitute´s products. These companies share the sport apparel industry and are vulnerable to competitive pressure from the actions of buyers whenever they view that their products can be substituted for others. The availability of substitutes invites the costumer to compare performance, features, and ease of use as well as price. Under Armour’s major competitors are Nike and Adidas/Reebok because they have a similar or competing product offerings. The top sport apparel brands offer similar products and that is why each one of them needs to keep a high standard and produce good quality products in order for customers to keep buying their product.

Under Armour’s business strategy towards market segmentation is broken down into three different basis; Age, Gender, Uses. The first major market segmentation is by age, different age groups demand different products and Under Armour has produced certain merchandise to appeal to each generation. The second is Gender, both male and female respectively make up roughly 50% of the market equally.To appeal to females UA produces apparel in brighter colo, as a fashion forward athletic wear. While for males they they cater toward masculine vibe of tight fitting and resistant to wear and tear. Lastly, UA segments by the range of uses for their products.

Under Armour is a very famous sportswear company in the world. It sold products in three categories: apparel, footwear, and accessories. It had a wide variety of innerwear and outerwear in the apparel segment, a broad line of footwear, and a line of accessories for both men and women. Kevin A. Plank, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Under Armour (UA), was a walk-on special team’s player for University of Maryland football team. As an athlete, he knew what kind of sportswear material would be popular for athletes. Under Armour created a new category of sports apparel: “performance apparel” which focused on the athlete’s performance. In this segment, it had a 78% market in 2009. Because, it paid more attentions on quality, performance

Under Armour began as a vision of former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank in 1996 for athletic wear made with more durable and practical material (“The Business of Under Armour”). The Fortune 500 company (Glassdoor) “...has been known to mainly act ethical especially since on Indeed.com they were given four out of five stars for job work/life balance (Indeed.com, 2014)” (Dinerstein). I believe Glassdoor to be trustworthy, as it is a website created to help prospective employees how the experience is at many companies, based on reviews and ratings. While Carl Dinerstein is not very reliable, considering the website is a blog for an ethics class, he does cite many sources, showing that there is some merit to his work. To expand exponentially as Under Armour did, it would not be surprising if there were many shortcuts taken for the sake of profit. Athleticwear brand Under Armour has been historically comparably socially conscious; however, there are still many flaws within the company in regards to child labor and

Under Armour’s (UA) current CEO Kevin Kant founded the company in 1996, which has witnessed the company grow in recent years to become a key player in the sporting gear and apparel industry. UA focuses its products and marketing efforts towards the youth, men, and women. The amount of resources that are allocated to each group of customers differs in that initially, UA primary source of revenue was from men even if youth and women products were also produced and sold. The specificity of UA’s products and their sporting activities selectivity can be attributed to UA’s limited global market share in the sporting gear and apparel industry. The company’s mission statement is inspiring, but in order to gain competitive advantages against larger

The customer is willing to pay the price because the Under Armour product has value in it (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, & Duane, 2008)

Under Armour is in the Textile- Apparel Clothing industry, in the consumer goods sector. The market has been driven by economic recovery, new product offerings and a

As the word of mouth for the growing product line of Under Armour started to stretch past the locker room, the message was soon received by friends of friends and then their friends and so on. Under Armour's brand visibility started to spread as more and more collegiate athletic trainers and athletes started actively seeking out the product. Soon demand flourished (Mullman, 2009). This word of mouth buzz was perfectly aligned with the marketing strategy put in place by Plank and his staff.

I chose Under Amour as I enjoy using their products and feel aligned with their values. After working in the health and fitness industry I began purchasing their products: I liked their aesthetics, quality, and the branding that one didn’t have to be a sports athlete to participate in their brand. Additionally, I felt they represent women more in their items and have a campaign to fight breast cancer which is a cause close to me. Under Amour also has a line dedicated to the Wounded Warrior Project and another to helping children in underserved communities. Thus, their fashionable and quality products were how I became a customer and their social work has me appreciate them and these factors had me believe they would be interesting to examine

Under Armour is currently one of the leading companies in the sports apparel industry whose mission is to “Make all athletes better through passion, science, and the relentless pursuit of innovation”.1 When Under Armour first broke into the sports apparel industry it was a disruptive pioneer that initially made the two giants, Nike and Adidas, a little weary. Under Armour revolutionized the sports apparel industry by creating apparel that used synthetic materials as an alternative to natural fibers, such as cotton, or other materials, such as polyester. This all-important switch to these materials resulted in a 2“shirt that provided compression and wicked perspiration off your skin rather than absorb it. A

Companies in this industry also attempt to differentiate themselves by technical advancements in the apparel. Companies compete to find the technology that consumers believe will help their overall performance in sports and activities; whether it’s a sweat wicking shirt or lighter shoe, consumers seek the product they believe will give them the greatest advantage. Overall, the rivalry amongst competitors is a strong force that ultimately lowers the profitability of the industry.

Under Armour is a very popular and well-known brand throughout the world, there are many reasons why this is the case and why they are very successful as a company. Under Armour creates value for their customers in many ways, one of these ways is with their basketball shoes. Customers wouldn't want to buy shoes if they didn't think it would be durable and a good shoe. Customers can trust Under Armour’s basketball shoe because it is a shoe that somebody in the NBA wears. This shows that someone is willing to trust their million-dollar contract with their shoes to help them get their well-earned money, and that shows to confidence in Under Armour. Under Armour also gives many different options that the customer can choose from. They offer different technologies, materials, and articles of clothing. There are many different technologies they have, but I will only list a few. One of these technologies is cool switch, this helps athletes perform longer because the clothing will keep them cool and save them from sweating as much which helps save energy. Also, they offer many different materials in case a customer is allergic to a certain type of material there is always another so that they don't lose a customer. They also offer all different types of clothing so that whatever you need they'll have. Based on this research it proves that Under Armour has done so much to get where they are and be as successful as they are.