Swot Analysis Under Armour

Bernie Sanders has an impressive political career, beginning by participating in activist movements as early as 1962 when he led the rally against segregated housing policies at University of Chicago. Ever since taking office as Mayor of Burlington in 1981, Sanders has climbed the political ladder before culminating his efforts in a 2016 run for the presidency before losing the Democratic ticket to Hillary Clinton. A

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

Under Armour team should be focus on Research and Development in order to successfully set in place the structure for the fashionable and creative athletic gear designs, and close deals with the superstars. Furthermore this will need a strong investment from the company; also, this represent a big risk for the company that in the future could be reflected as the positive difference between UA and the competition. This action would organize the company for the success as it will establish the company in the privilege position in the industry.

Under Armour, Inc. is ranked among the established sports Kit producers across the globe. It thus enjoys massive sales in several markets. Under Armour has its headquarters Baltimore, Maryland with Kevin Plank as the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Robin Thurston as the Chief Finance Office. The company is committed to developing its brand continuously through advertisement. It is presently listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) market with a share price of $46.99. The company through its CEO believes that for the company to remain viable in the market, it has to ensure that that its products satisfy the taste of the consumers (Thompson, 2015). Clearly, this has bored fruits, basing the argument on the high consumer turnover that the company enjoys. Moreover, the company has various opportunities to expand in the American markets. All the employees in the organization have to undergo a form of training on the operations of the company. The company is appreciated by several consumers across the globe as a result of the high-quality products it produces and the unique marketing strategies. It is founded on the slogan “protect this house.”

Resource Strengths and Competitive Capabilities. One of Under Armour’s distinctive strengths is their commitment to product quality and innovation. The quality of their moisture-wicking specialty fabric is what helps to differentiate their products from the competition. They also have the added benefit of not having to rely on any “in-house manufacturing” (C-86). In 2013, essentially all their products were manufactured by 44 manufacturers located in 16 separate countries, 63% of which were manufactured in China, Jordan, Vietnam, and Indonesia (C-86-87). By outsourcing the manufacturing of their specialty fabrics and raw materials

Key threats include; hard competition from companies like Nike and Adidas, the presence of low cost substitutes in the market, and economic recessions. Other threats include the company’s male dominant focus, recently becoming a publicly traded company, and the added financial burden of increasing taxes and interest rates. Summary of

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.

I believe that bargaining power of customers and threat of new entrants are the three main key forces that have the potential to impact negatively Under Armour’s growth stability. Under Armour relies mainly on Dick’s Sporting Goods and The Sports Authority for more than 20% of its revenues and problems at these retailers could affect its growth pace. While Under Armour faces rigid competition from Adidas and Nike, they could also see the competition go up from other companies as it does not hold process or fabric patents. Furthermore, Under Armour’s hard core competitors, Nike and Adidas Group, are continuously coming up with new ideas in order to fight for that number one spot and to earn the customers’ loyalty to their brand.

An enemies weak spots are natural targets and the flank attack focuses on attacking those natural weak spots through geographic dimensions and segmental dimensions. In this case, Under Armour uses the segmental dimension. The segmental dimension serves the market’s uncovered needs. As a matter of fact, according to the Flank strategy, the purpose of marketing is to discover needs and satisfy them. This is exactly what Under Armour has done and what it continues to do. It has been the fuel that steers this ship to success. Under Armour is deliberately planning its future according to its consumer base. For example, Under Armour is has recently entered the cross-training footwear market by releasing a very specific product which I will explain later in the paper. When CEO Kevin Plank was asked as to why he was pursuing the cross-training category, his answer was simple: “It’s the same reason we went after football cleats, because our customer asked us for it.” (Olson 2008) This marketing concept has not only helped Under Armour grow exponentially, but it has helped Under Armour separate itself from other sportswear giants like Nike. Nike’s philosophy which believes in telling the athlete what’s best for them portrays them as being the loud, stubborn, know-it-all type whereas Under Armour portrays themselves as the player-friendly coach, who listens to its player’s feedback and adjusts its game-plan accordingly.

One of the strongest sides of Under Armour is its outstanding technological development. Under Armour has made many strides in technology of their products. For example, Under Armour has begun using a waterproof and water resistant material. One of the most notable major changes in technology Under Armour is working on is the use of a touch screen in the arm of a sleeve for instant access to information, whether it is heart rate monitor or simply social media and music. The

Under Armour strives to create products that help all athletes improve their game through “passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation.” As a result, everything that Under Armour creates and sells, including accessories, apparel, shoes, and fitness products, serves a purpose. Whether it’s a t-shirt that keeps you cool during your workout or sneakers that

The sports apparel industry is comprised of performance gear, but also includes active wear for casual use. Under Armour produces both performance gear and apparel, so they fall into this industry. The industry is controlled by giant, international companies such as Nike and Adidas. Currently, Under Armour is a small company and is not competing well with respect to the criteria described in the company analysis

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 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.

In this text, we have conducted a strategic audit of Under Armour to establish the strength and weaknesses of their strategies. We find that the company’s strengths are innovation, brand association, high quality apparel and increase in sales every year. Major weaknesses demonstrated