Under Armour By Kevin Plank

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank , a then 23-year old former special team’s captain of the University of Maryland football team. Plank initially began the business from his grandmother 's basement in Washington, D.C. As a fullback at the University of Maryland , Plank got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts worn under his jersey; however, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. After graduating from the University of Maryland , Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland

Under Armour was started in 1995 by a man called Kevin Plank. A young college graduate made it his goal to find a new kind of T-shirt for athletes. Kevin found the kind of fabric he was looking for, went to a tailor and had numerous prototypes made. Kevin then handed these prototypes out to friends that he had known from playing football for his a large portion of his life. His old teammates too these products, spread the word and before Kevin knew it he was selling thousands of shirts to athletes all around the world.

The customer is willing to pay the price because the Under Armour product has value in it (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, & Duane, 2008)

Under Armour’s continuous focus on innovation to develop products based on the growing needs and preferences of consumers has helped it to become a fully integrated athletic brand servicing all the needs of athletes. For instance, in 2011, the company introduced Charged Cotton products, which are made from natural cotton but perform like synthetic products and dry faster. Strom Fleece product line with a water-resistant that repels water, without stifling airflow was one of the innovation of Under Armour. In 2012, the company launched coldblack

For many years now, every major company utilizes the likeness of professional athletes and Hollywood stars to push their products on consumers. One of these companies that are relatively young is Under Armour. “In 1996, Kevin Plank, a 23-year-old former University of Maryland special teams captain, turned an idea born on the football field into a new industry that changed the way athletes dress forever” (1996-1998, n.d., p.1). This young company, Under Armour, is currently utilizing the likeness of such stars as Stephen Curry, The Rock, and Jordan Spieth to market their product to new customers. Are there other more effective methods that companies such as Under Armour can utilize to pull customers away from the likes of Nike or Adidas? Are these mega-sponsorship deals worth the cost for these companies?

In 1995 the then captain of the University of Maryland football team, Kevin Plank came up with a brilliant idea that will revolutionize the athletic apparel industry forever: microfiber T-shirts designed to wick moisture away from the skin. Almost two decades later, Under Armour is a multi billion-dollar athletic apparel market competing directly with industry giants Nike and Adidas.

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank (Current CEO and Chairman of the company) and became publicly traded on NYSE in 2006. Under Armour’s core products were performance sport apparel, footwear, and accessories. Its main market is North America (95% of its revenue). Now, it is the second largest sports apparel companies in the U.S.

Under Armour is one of the leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor for branded sports apparel, footwear and accessories, for both men and women. The company was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former football player for University of Maryland. The company has its headquarters at Baltimore but sells its products in most countries across the world. Additional regional offices are located in Amsterdam 's Olympic Stadium, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Denver among others. Despite beginning from humble backgrounds, the company employs 2,200 workers and reports sales exceeding 700 million dollars. Currently, the company 's vision is to empower athletes everywhere; the mission is to make all athletes better through passion, design and relentless pursuit of innovation. Therefore, this essay examines Under Armour 's business environment and suggests recommendations and opinions on the strategic direction of the company.

The things people find most relevant is that it has good quality material. Its last a

Under Armour is a sports apparel company founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former football player in University of Maryland. The company specializes in sports clothing that compresses and wicks perspiration off the wearer’s skin rather than absorb it. The company uses a mechanistic organizational structure which involves a clear, well-defined, and vertical hierarchies of control. Under Armour’s organization structure is centralized and follows a vertical hierarchy of control and authority.

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, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "UA", has seen a large decline in share price over the last 52-weeks, at a -14% decline, larger than the industry which has declined at -6.76%, and severely lagging competitor Nike which has risen 12.16%. Adidas is not traded on a US stock exchange, so stock data was not available for this company. Under Armour 's decline is not reflected of a worsening business, more so a stock that was extremely hot coming out of its November 2005 IPO, and riding that into early 2007 when the stock traded as high as $73.40. The 52-week range of Under Armour is $25.39-$73.40. This meteoric rise is reflected in its ' 2006 price to earnings ratio, or

Kevin Plank, the Chief Executive Officer and President of Under Armour (UA), is an entrepreneurial hero that was recently added to the Forbes 400 list. He is also seen on other lists such as Forbes 40 under 40 and America’s 20 most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under. The youngest of five brothers, Plank always had the entrepreneurial spirit and a competitive drive to win. He started shoveling snow at the age of ten and held several jobs throughout his school days. He even had a small annual business, Cupid’s Valentine, which sold roses for Valentine’s Day. Plank says he put away $17,000 from the rose business, which was used as the start-up money for UA. Plank played football for Maryland, and as recalled by his teammates, he wasn’t the “biggest

Conversely, there is one retailer that seemed to have been catapulted into success is the company known as Under Armour which became a leader in the sporting goods aspect of the retail industry. The company has become one of the leading retail outlets in America. Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former football player from the University of Maryland (Thompson, Gamble, Peteraf, & Strickland 2016). The idea of was to create a line of sporting goods that performed. The merchandise was to be used by athletes to keep them dry and comfortable during a practice or a workout. The plan was rather basic with the start of a t-shirt and it was a huge success propelling them into a segment that the founder had no idea existed. There was a need for what was offered; functional clothing. In 2005, changed its name from KP Sports to Under Armour.

1996: Kevin Plank invests $20,000 of his personal savings, and $40,000 in credit card debt to launch Under Armour. By the end of the year total sales are $17,000.