Company Overview In 1996, Under Armour,Inc. (UA) was founded by Kevin Plank as a former University of Maryland football player. Kevin Plank started his business with the idea of alteration athlete’s T-shirt. The shirt uses moisture-wicking fabrics to keep athletes cool and dry, and worked in a body to regulate temperature for enhancing athlete performance (Under Aumour, “About Under Armour” n.d.). Under Armour’s mission statement is to make all athletes better through passion, design and the relentless pursuit of innovation (Under Aumour, “Brand Mission”n.d.). Under Armour has developed different product for athletes to use in different seasons for men, women, and youth such as HeatGear that is designed to be worn in high temperatures, …show more content…
While Nike’ s gross margin was 43.1% and an operating margin was 11.8%, as well as Adidas generated gross margin 47.3% and an operating margin was 8.1% (Josh Kohn-Lindquist, 2013) Strength II: 35% Revenue Growth In the fourth quarter of 2013, Under Armour reports that 35% of net revenue growth to 683 million dollars compared with net revenue of 506 million dollars in 2012, driven by expanded fleece offerings and new ColdGear Infrared products (Under Armour, “2013 Under Armour Annual Report” 2014). The company kept its growth, as indicated in the fifteenth consecutive quarter that increased over-20% (Under Armour, “2013 Under Armour Annual Report” 2014). In the fourth quarter, Under Armour gained a great response from its customer over this quarter, which was presented the strength of Under Armour’s brand name with new products. In the future, the company plan to expand its markets in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Latin America, also expect to increase overall sale in global market from 6% in 2013 to 12% in 2016 (Under Armour, “2013 Under Armour Annual Report” 2014). Weakness: Not Own Patents Under Armour faces intense competition such as Nike and Adidas. They play an important role in sportswear products, and have a strong market outside North America where Under Armour has a limited presence in international market (Trefis
Competitors in the industry can wreak havoc on the bottom line for a company. With rivals, a price competition usually ensues, which benefits the customers but hurts the competing businesses that share a common strategy. In reviewing rival sellers, many competitors exist within the sports apparel and footwear industry, but most of them are unable to compete with the industry giants, Nike and Adidas. They are well seated in the industry and their sales reveal this ultimate strength, however, Under Armour is putting pressure on these mammoths. In 2015, global sales of sports clothing and footwear equated to $250 billion, of which Nike grabbed $30.6 billion, Adidas held in its grasp $18.8 billion and Under Armour had a much smaller piece of the pie, at $3.9 billion globally. In reviewing these numbers, it looks like Under Armour is really subpar to the industry giants, but this is not exactly the case. Under Armour in the past couple of
There were some significant differences in the two company’s statements. For example, Nike incurred a net loss of $60.6 million from their operating activities where as Under Armour experienced a $69.52 million gain. Another significant figure is the difference in the total cash dividends paid. Over the course of the year, Nike paid $412.9 million in cash dividends where as Under Armour paid no cash dividends during the year. However, when it came to the cash balance differences between 2008 and 2007, Nike increased its cash by $277.2 million where as Under Armour only increased its cash by $61.45 million.
Under Armour (UA) was founded by a then 23-year old football player from the University of Maryland in 1996 named Kevin Plank. Kevin started the company from his grandmother’s basement in Washington, D.C. As a player he became tired of having to change his undershirts which became quickly soaked with perspiration. A revelation he made was that his compression shorts worn during practice remained dry even with heavy sweating. This inspired him to make a t-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. After graduating, Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. He soon perfected the design of the shirt which utilized microfibers that quickly wicked
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
Under Armour’s success transcends to its financial stability. Based Under Armour’s fourth quarter report, the apparel company expects 2016 net revenues of approximately $4.95 billion, representing growth of 25% over 2015 and 2016
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, a publicly traded company, was founded in 1996 by its CEO, Kevin Plank. Plank attended the University of Maryland where he played football. He was tired of having to change his cotton shirts over and over again when the football team had multiple practices a day, so he came up with a solution for the cotton shirts. This solution would re-design athletic apparel for the market. Plank designed a t-shirt that was, according to Under Armour (Under Armour), “…engineered with moisture-wicking performance fibers.” This design would help keep athletes cool, dry, and light while training and competing in the heat. Plank started selling his design from the trunk of his car as he drove up and down the East Coast, and his sales sky-rocketed
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
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.
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.
The strength of the competitive forces vary among the Under Armour, Nike, and The Adidas Group. The buyer bargaining power of Under Armour, is somewhat weak. Under Armour’s growth strategy entails, “Securing
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 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
Under Armour 's mission is to have all athletes better with passion, design and innovation.