Case Analysis : Embry Investment Group

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank , a then 23-year old former special team’s captain of the University of Maryland football team. Plank initially began the business from his grandmother 's basement in Washington, D.C. As a fullback at the University of Maryland , Plank got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts worn under his jersey; however, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. After graduating from the University of Maryland , Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland

Under Armour was started in 1995 by a man called Kevin Plank. A young college graduate made it his goal to find a new kind of T-shirt for athletes. Kevin found the kind of fabric he was looking for, went to a tailor and had numerous prototypes made. Kevin then handed these prototypes out to friends that he had known from playing football for his a large portion of his life. His old teammates too these products, spread the word and before Kevin knew it he was selling thousands of shirts to athletes all around the world.

Maryland football player. The company was born out of an idea to make a T-shirt that provided

Plank states that Under Armour is “utterly determined to conquer that next layer, and the layer after that.” Under Armour is currently working on a number of different products and are also on the edge of a developing a new shirt technology that would be able to measure your heart. This company has and will always stay on top when it comes down to innovation and the development of new products.

1. Under Armour was founded in 1995 by Kevin Plank. Kevin played football at the University of Maryland and noticed how often he and he’s teammates had to change their undershirts because of all of the sweat they absorbed. The sweat the shirts absorbed made the shirts much heavier and more uncomfortable. He then noticed that the compressions shorts he was wearing were not nearing as heavy and didn’t absorb the sweat the shirt did. This one simple observation kick-started his experimentation to develop a t-shirt for athletes. He experimented with different fabrics in his grandmothers basements until he thought he created the perfect shirt. He sent the shirts to friends that played in the NFL. After receiving feedback, he perfected the design and made his first deal with Georgia Tech, from there the company took off.

​Under Armour is a great American success story by a young man with the determination to succeed in life. Mr. Plank grew his company by being different and becoming flexible in working in small

Competitors are able to easily out price and out sell Under Armors products due to their greater economies of scale. Additional central issues affecting Under Armor are the cotton prices. This is a major factor that could make or break the company. With cotton being the main raw material used in the company’s products, Under Armor’s profit margins are highly vulnerable to any movements in the price of it. In the recent years cotton farming has been loosing profitability due to the increase in wages paid to the laborers in the fields to keep up with the overall rise in price levels.

Under Armour is the brain child of Kevin Plank. “In 1996, Kevin Plank, a 23-year-old former University of Maryland, turned an idea born on the football field into a new industry that changed the way athletes dress forever. Back in his playing days, Plank hated having to change his sweat-soaked cotton T-shirts over and over again during two-a-days. Knowing that there simply had to be something better; he set out to create a solution” (Under Armour, 2016).

Under Armour is a growing company with many strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Many of these qualities will be discussed throughout the paper, but a SWOT analysis is the perfect way to become familiar with the company and it’s economic attributes.

With Nike having such deep pockets for things as research and development they always have the newest and most innovative gear in the market. The first products Under Armour sold were shirts. Kevin Plank started the company because he was frustrated at his two a day practices. He had to wear the same sweaty and wet cotton T-shirt all day.

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank (Current CEO and Chairman of the company) and became publicly traded on NYSE in 2006. Under Armour’s core products were performance sport apparel, footwear, and accessories. Its main market is North America (95% of its revenue). Now, it is the second largest sports apparel companies in the U.S.

Founded in 1996 by University of Maryland graduate Kevin Plank, Under Armour has become the leading supplier of the athletic performance apparel industry. Under Armour began with simple idea to create a t-shirt that would enhance athletic performance by regulating body temperature and removing perspiration

1. We chose to study Under Armour because of their explosive growth over the last five years in a very competitive industry. From a marketing standpoint, it is quite apparent that the company is doing well and one could assume that because the firm appears to have had great success in aggressively expanding their market share, they are by extension creating value for investors. By studying the financial information, we aimed to confirm or deny whether Under Armour is indeed creating value.

The rapid success of Under Armour is not a mistake. The company dominates the performance apparel category. According to Founder Kevin Plank, “The mission of Under Armour is to make technically advanced products that are engineered with superior fabric construction, to provide proven innovation available to the masses-aimed at making athletes perform better” (UnderArmour.com). Under Armour uses many marketing initiatives including athlete endorsement, product placement, and popular culture which illustrates the success of Under Armour.

Under Armour, Inc. is a multinational company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a manufacturing company that specializes in casual wear, sports, and footwear (Armour, 2015). The company reported during its fourth quarter of the 2016 fiscal year a 12% increase in revenues which was a miss on the consensus by $100 million. Their earnings per share according to the fourth quarter of the year 2016 were $0.23 per share. This saw their stock price tank by 25%as at the close of 31st January 2017. For the fiscal year ended 2016, the company recorded a 22% sales increase as compared to that of 32%in 2014 and 29% in 2015. This is an indicator of a declined growth rate over the mentioned years. According to the company’s 2017 report, the decline has been attributed to a negative effect by various bankruptcies in the sports retailer market, an environment filled with so many promotions and lastly a holiday season that was a weak one compared to the other seasons. Since the company’s sales rely significantly on the United States market, the fact that some other sports companies like City Sports were liquidated had a considerable impact on UA’s sales when compared to some of its competitors like Adidas and Nike. The company’s poor results have also been attributed to its failure in the apparel business that recorded a sales growth of 7% as compared to that of 24% achieved back in 2014.