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
ETHICS CHECK
Products: Under Armour will continue to increase the amount of products it makes from recycled materials.
Energy: Under Armour will continue to find ways to reduce the energy used to run its business.
Waste: Under Armour will continue to find ways to reduce and reuse the waste it creates.
Supply Chain: Under
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Sizing up the competition
The national focus on the obesity epidemic has fostered a slew of new apparel companies that target specific market segments like rock climbers, CrossFitters, and yogis. As competition heats up, established brands like Lululemon, Nike and GAP are looking to draw in more customers by attracting more males, females or budget-conscious fitness enthusiasts. The challenge is how can brands stay relevant, expand into new markets and ensure the same high-quality products and experiences consumers are accustomed to? Online discount retailers have hurt sales for larger brands. Meanwhile, international brands like Lorna Jane are scoring big with shoppers in the US, giving domestic companies a run for their money. As the athletic goods market evolves, brands like Under Armour are looking to expand in unlikely places. The company recently announced a $560 million investment in two fitness and mobile application companies, an exciting and unexpected move for the massive retailer. Meanwhile, DICK’S Sporting Goods announced it is moving forward with a store expansion, illustrating brands still find value in physical stores. However, as the lines between retailer and digital fitness companies blur, it’s imperative that brands focus on building out their omnichannel path to provide more consumer value.
Here are a few ways brands can
Under Armour, Nike and Adidas are the top three brands known worldwide. These three companies were able to gain a strong brand to make a name for themselves in the sports apparel market today. On the other hand, Under Armour has become one of the top leading distributing companies to offer athletic apparel, footwear amongst many other things. “In 2013, Under Armour had a 14.7 percent share of the U.S market, compared quite favorably with Nike’s 27 percent market share and Adidas’s 7.4 percent market share.” (C-50) However, the company’s path of success can come crashing down as you take a look
New market opportunities could be a way to push Under Armour forward. Expanding the product service lines by under armour could help them raise sales and increase their portfolio. Expanding into other markets could be a possibility for under armour. Forming strategic alliances and joint ventures is an opportunity for under armour to maximize profit and gain new business. Reduce prices of the products. Increase number of retail outlets.
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
The also place a big emphasizes on the Under Armour logo and pushed for brand recognition. Under Armour became the official uniform sponsor for many colleges and sport teams. Under Armour’s strategy was to design and make varies styles of sports apparel with their moisture-wicking fabrics to satisfy the needs of athletes of all levels and all sports. Their growth strategy was to continue to expand on the products they offered their consumers. They wanted to create more products that encompassed several sports and activities. By doing this they would be targeting additional consumers with their new performance products. Part of the growth strategy was to expand sales in foreign countries, become a global competitor in sports apparel and strengthening the appeal of their products and brand
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's mission was '' to make all athletes better through passion, design and relentless pursuit of innovation''.
Under Armour has several large competitors; the largest being Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear. These companies are similar in that they all stress product innovation, advertising and sponsorships. Adidas is broadly focused in all sporting categories but fails to stand out. Columbia is known almost solely by its winter gear, limiting its growth potential and creating strong seasonality trends. Nike strives to be the best in every segment while Under Armour’s goal is to be a leader in each process of its product development, concentrating on quality over quantity. An advantage for Under Armour is that it is focused more on improving its brand and unique products, licensing other items and accessories through independent manufacturers.
The major weakness that has been identified is the lack of Under Armour’s lack of establishment and footprint of the brand around the world. Over 90% of the company's revenue comes from the North American market, which is a major source of concern. They are starting to become a larger brand in the golfing world which will help them gain market share in the western world but still doesn’t help with eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. They can change this by sponsoring and equipping more soccer and cricket athletes and teams. These are some of the two largest sports in the world and if they are able to get their brand associated with these sports Under Armor will easily become a household
Under Armour is a well-known brand for all ages known for its quality products. UA has high brand recognition and offers a variety of products, with a variety of styles and product purposes. UA continues to grow and is already the third largest athletic brand in the world (Chapman, 2017). They have sponsorships with big name athletes including championship athletes. They have a strong marketing message that encourages consumers to work hard at their goals like the underdog athletes they sponsor that end up on top. Another strength is their retail stores; they offer hands-on stores that allow consumers to see their innovative technologies.
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
Under Armour is a leading athletic clothing line directed towards the overall athlete who is looking for the most comfort during extracurricular activities. The mission of the company is, "to provide the world with technically advanced products engineered with exclusive fabric construction, supreme moisture management, and proven innovation. In short, every Under Armour product is doing something for you; it's making you better."
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 has infused their products and their brand image in various visual media forms, including over a dozen popular television shows and numerous motion pictures (Shank, 2009). The look and appeal of Under Armour was ideal as it was the combination of the intense, hard core athletic gear that could help with performance coupled with a hip, fresh look that would be able to appeal to consumers. To differentiate its product line from its competitors Under Armour leveraged its sophisticated design software, new manufacturing techniques, the latest in material engineering, and robust information technology systems to produce virtually everything it makes (Shank, 2009). The utilization of the marketing technique of product placement in television, movies, and video games has allowed Under Armour to promote the benefits of its product line to a larger audience (Shank, 2009). In 1998, Warner Brothers studio was
As shown in Figure 2 of the Appendix, a Porter Five Force Analysis makes it clear that the overall rivalry within the athletic apparel industry is medium to high. Because Nike and Adidas already have a substantial amount of capital resources and other assets, Under Armour struggles against them to gain market share. 8Also, private labels of retailers and newer sports apparel companies could potentially pose a threat to Under Armour, but mostly due to the fact that Under Armour does not hold any fabric or process patents. This makes it extremely easy for any competitor to duplicate a product or process with no consequence. However, the threat of new entrants is not too troublesome within the industry because of the great capital cost required for branding, advertising, and meeting product demand. Furthermore, the sports apparel industry is in the maturity phase of the industry life cycle. This means that each company included in the oligopoly must
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports clothing and Accessories Company. The company is a supplier of sportswear and casual apparel. Under Armour began offering footwear in 2006.