MGMT 479 UNDER ARMOUR Powerpoint Group Essay

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’s Financial Performance. The most notable aspect of Under Armour’s financial performance during the 2011-2015 period was their rapid growth in net revenue. Growth in annual net revenue averaged between 24.6%-32.26% per year (Appendix B; C-77). They managed this while also maintaining their Gross Profit Margin annually at around 48%-49% (roughly similar range to The Adidas Group’s gross profit margins from 2013-2015); this can be indicated through Appendix A, which shows how Under Armour has managed to keep sales growth relative to cost of goods sold, which leaves them room to cover for their Operating Expenses (despite this however, Operating Profit margins did receive a small dip in 2015, but are more favorable than compared to the Adidas group’s operating margins in 2013-2015). New inventory management practices introduced in 2012 also allowed for Under Armour to decrease its Days of Inventory by about 11% in 2015 from 2011, thereby improving their inventory turnover. Under Armour was also benefitting from slightly above average Return on Equity between the 2011-2014 periods at an average of around 15.5%, before falling slightly below 14% in year-end 2015 (Appendix B;

Shortcomings – Currently, the authors of Under Armour all have full-time positions in counseling, business advancement or promoting technique. All are working for a moment occupation, keeping Under Armour from exploiting the opportunities accessible. With a specific end goal to minimize out-of-pocket expenses, the chance to venture into other high-development territories is accessible, yet will require extra assets. Under Armour likewise does not have broad abilities in bookkeeping and means to discover a lead bookkeeper to either chip away at staff or as an outsourced builder to give administrations. With just three to four organizers, Under Armour is not able to handle more than one or two activities at once. This will be tended to as Under Armour gets to be more agreeable with their activities, and is prepared to extend the measure of the team.

Under Armour was founded in 1996 and is known as a leading developer, marketer, and distributor of branded performance apparel, footwear and accessories. Under Armour’s target market is athletes on the professional and collegiate level as well as consumers with active lifestyles. The company’s widely recognized brand is known for performance an authenticity, and is an alternative to traditional natural fiber products and non-performance apparel and footwear. The case analysis performed will evaluate the company’s vision and mission statement, internal and external situation, possible strategy options going forward, and recommendations for the company.

I have chosen Nike to produce an analysis on. It is important for a company as large as Nike to keep abreast of their strategies and to remain competitive. Here is some background

According to a study done by Centers of Disease Control and Prevention which stated heart diseases could be prevented 40% less by walking 30 minutes every day[1]. That’s why we should move our bodies and get the appropriate outfit to do so. Under Armour is an American sports clothing and accessories company. It supplies sportswear and casual apparel. Under Armour began offering footwear in 2006. Under Armour 's global headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Its European headquarters is in Amsterdam 's Olympic Stadium; additional offices are in Denver, Colorado, China..

This analysis of the Under Armour, Inc., and its subsidiaries is depicted in the paper; Under Armour and its subsidiaries develops, markets, and distributes branded performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The company is in direct competition with Nike, Inc. and The Adidas Group. Therefore, this paper will further attempt to evaluate the pressure exerted by various competitive forces on Under Armour (UA), Nike (NKE), and The Adidas Group (AG); then the core competencies, resource strengths, or competitive capabilities of Under Armour will discussed. To help develop an excellent business strategy for Under Armour, a SWOT analysis is conducted to determine the strength, and the weaknesses, in addition to pertinent the opportunities and the threats that are currently confronting the Under Armor Incorporation in the marketplace. For better understating of the company’s organizational structure, the generic competitive strategies used by the company will be examined, and then a brief overview of the Under Armour financial performance between the years 2006 and 2011 will be discussed. Finally, my recommendations for the CEO of the company based on my research will be enumerated.

The global retail sports apparel industry has been growing rapidly and is expected to continue that growth trend as it reaches approximately $125 billion in 2017. The increase in demand for sports apparel and promising demographic conditions throughout Asia are expected to boost the market over the forecast period. Some of the factors that drive the growth in the industry are increasing individual sport and athletic participation,

Under Armour is a company that always strives to do better. They are currently trying to expand globally. While Under Armour has higher quality than most of its competitors, the cost of their merchandise is still a lot less than competitors. There are many threats to a highly-competitive sports clothing company such as Under Armor. Like many companies in the retail industry they are faced with the increasing costs of their materials and shipping expenses. Under Armour is trying to connect to the middle class more, by trying to make their merchandise as affordable as possible. Fortunately, for Under Armour, customers are focusing more on the quality of the merchandise, not the price. This company has many

As we learned in Chapter 1, a company’s strategy is the action plan for outperforming its competitors and achieving superior profitability through actions to gain sale and market share via better features, superior designs, and higher quality products (Gamble 2). There are several key factors that impact Under Armour’s business strategy. They continue to increase their distribution, use professional athletes as their spokespersons and stay relevant in the market by investing heavily in R&D to produce new products. Under Armour competes with their competitors utilizing a differentiation strategy to gain sales and market share. We learned in chapter 5 of our text book, that a differentiation strategy is a strategy that seeks to produce a competitive edge by incorporating attributes and features that set a company’s product or service offering apart from rivals in ways that buyers consider valuable and worth paying for (Gamble 112). Under Amour gained first movers advantage when they were the first to produce a shirt material that kept athletes cool and dry while still being lightweight. When entering the market their product differentiation proved to the market that they were a top competitor in the sports apparel industry, and not the perceived underdog that the market expected. The Under Armour brand is perceived by

Nike is one of the world’s largest footwear & athletic apparel manufacturer and supplier. Nike markets athletic wear, footwear, accessories and sports equipment for all types of sports and training. Nike started out named Blue Ribbon Sports Inc. and changed its name in 1971 to Nike. The famous company is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike sells its products in all Nike belongs to the ‘apparel footwear and accessories’ industry, and is one of the leading company when it comes to profitability. In 2015, Nike’s global revenue was around 30.6 billion dollars. Nike focuses on invention of products for athletes to solve problems leading into the next generation. A few of Nike’s largest competitors are Under-armor, Adidas, and Reebok. This essay uses key financial ratios to measure Nike’s strength or weakness as a company, and ultimately decide if Nike is worth investing in.

Nike Inc. is a global powerhouse in the athletic apparel, equipment, and manufacturing industries. While it covers so many customer bases passed these industries, Nike has its most success with footwear and apparel. For example, Nike boasts a 33.6% market share in the footwear industry with over 4.3 billion dollars in sales through the second quarter of 2015 (Nike Financials). Nike revenues for shoes, apparel, and all other athletic equipment and services overshadow all other competition in the market. The financials that will be analyzed in this document will prove that not even one of Nike’s toughest competitors (Under Armour) has the resources and brand value to overtake Nike in the market.

We, therefore, recommend that the company investment into the new growing trend of of “fashionable athletic wear” apparel, focusing primarily on their female customer base. This new female apparel line will hopefully boost future earnings by serving one of the fastest growing markets in the United States. In addition, it will hopefully attract more female customers, who still perceive the brand as being ‘male-centric’. Through thorough analysis, we believe that this the best course of action for the company because of several factors that contribute, but are not limited to this new trend such as the increase in health conscious, an increase in athletic wear apparel and the growing number of active gym members across the country.

Founded in 1996, Under Armour has succeeded in gaining the number 2 spot in the sports apparel, footwear, and accessories industry yet, as of 2016, back in 3rd. The threat of new entrants shaking up the industry is a daily reality facing the industry participants. Technology and innovation within and outside the industry changes the playing field and results in companies scrambling to protect its market share. However, to protect the industry, Under Armour, as well as the other competitors, are quick to release innovative products, new designs, product enhancements value priced to keep up with the always changing minds of the consumers.

Under Armour has some competitive advantages that will help the company expand in the domestic market as well as the international market. The company offers a wide variety of fitness products. UA is also very recognizable because the company’s logo is simple and easy to recognize. UA also possesses strong brand loyalty and cost advantage compared to other competitors. However, Under Armour lacks international market share, lack of product differentiation compared to competitors, and lack of female and children’s market. UA needs to expand their target markets internationally and build their women’s and children’s market. UA should have