Case Analysis : Under Armour

It should be noted that Under Armour and its competitors form a segment of the Apparel Clothing market geared toward recreational and formal athletics. Under Armour, and its main competitors of Columbia Sportswear and Nike, are recognizible and prestigious brand names in the United States and in many other countries, yet affordable, to an extent, to most middle class Americans. They are popular among teenagers and young adults, and also worn by practical middle aged people and senior citizens. The desirability, versatility, and practicality of these items are intrinsic to the companies and help lead to their success. Specific practical yet luxurious products are offered, such as shirts and pants for running, that help the runner in either too hot or too cold climates. With more and more people trying to exercise for health, beauty, athletic, and other reasons, these types of products are in demand. It seems that there are some Niche markets, and unique products, among each of Under Amour and its competitors, so there is not much threat between the different brands. Also, some recreational and formal athletes would purchase all three brands of items. The industry is considered to be a growth industry, but also somewhat mature as all the brand names are recognized. The following article explains how the author, at the end of 2014, considered Under Armour to be “a great growth stock” http://investorplace.com/2014/12/under-armour-inc-ua-stock-growth/ (Navellier

Threats-Tax increases placing additional financial burdens on under armour could be a threat. The financial burden of increasing interest rates could be a threat to under armour. Changes in the way consumers shop and spend and other changing consumer patterns could be a threat to under armour’s performance. The actions of a competitor could be a major threat against under armour for instance it they bring in new technology or increase their workforce to meet demand. Substitute products available on the market present a major threat to under armour. Hard competition from companies such as nike and adidas. Recession may impact the sale of company. Low price importers can fetch market share. Male dominated focus.

a. Under Armour’s approach towards innovation is very unique, they think and plan out their projects thoroughly in order to create a one of a kind product that could be appealing to their consumers. The company has been extremely progressive throughout the years in order to stay ahead of the other competitive companies in their targeted industry. By constantly updating and coming up with different product lines, such as compression shirts and cleats, Under Armour is able to compete with other top athletic wear company’s in their market. If

Kevin Plank, the founder of Under Armour sports apparel line is a brilliant businessman. This former college football player started making work-out T-shirts from his grandmother’s basement; seventeen years later, the company is generating billions of dollars in revenue. Kevin Plank has created a brand that is more than just a fancy success story. The Under Armour’s mission in the sporting goods industry is to “make all athletes better through passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation (Thompson, 2014, C-53).” This company is more than just a fancy success story. VIRO Analysis reported, Under Armour has been growing its revenue at a rate of +20% for 5 consecutive years, which is extremely impressive. The company’s financial

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

When deciding between us and our competitors, when choosing which performance apparel producer you want to invest into, we know the marketplace for performance apparel, footwear and accessories is highly competitive and includes many new competitors as well as increased completion from established companies expanding their production and marketing of performance products (pg. 6, 10k). We believe we have been successful in competing with others for limited retailer floor space because of the relationships we have developed as a direct result of the strong sales of our products. Under Armour is the official sponsor of the National Football League Combine. They are also the official footwear supplier of Major League Baseball (5 Things You Didn’t

Moreover, Under Armour investment goals made by the company are usually seen as short or long term. The short term goals are seen to be have a

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.

Consistency tends to be the best assets that Under Armour has to their advantage. According to Plank, he states that the success of a business, "starts with a good product," and he continued to say that after you have a good product, "use front-end hustle with back-end muscle." Due to this consistent product that Under Armour produces, it has obtained a heavy customer loyalty. Sales and revenue speak for themselves. In 1996, Under Armour had revenues of fifty thousand dollars compared to 200 million in 2004.

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.

Since the evolution of the company, Under Armour rapidly expands their business while some internal problems still exist. For example, unprotected intellectual property right issue and supplier relationship management. Also, the current business strategy was focusing on marketing, international expansion, product differentiation, and other expenses while they have weak financial management. These will certainly pose future problems to the company.

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

THREAT - LOW to MEDIUM: Interesting because Under Armour was a new organization not long ago entrants must differentiate somehow, powerful companies not willing to surrender market share and increasing apparel technology raises start-up costs.

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.