Under Armour 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’s rapid rise in the sports apparel industry under its founder and CEO Kevin Plank has surprised many. Plank has turned a company that he started in his grandmother’s basement into a powerful opposing force to Nike. The company’s competitive advantage comes through its focus on performance, and its products have been well received by athletes. The company currently enjoys a strong position as professional athletes and movie and video game creators clamor for its products.

In my opinion, without his past he wouldn’t not have been successful. If some random person walked up to these football players and offered them t-shirts to wear, majority of the players would have thrown it away like all the other free merchandise they get. Due to the fact that Kevin had a relationship with the people that he gave the t-shirts away to allowed him to be able to get his product recognized. Kevin originally started sending his prototypes away in pairs. Telling his old teammates take one for you and one for the guy next to you. By doing this he allowed the relationship that his old teammates had to establish one with their teammates and get his product furthermore recognized. If you refer to Figure 1. You will see that originally Under Armour started out with 5000 employees in 1996. In 2006 Under Armour’s revenue was 431 Million Dollars and by 2011 it was 1, 473 Million Dollars. In about 5 years Under Armour increased their revenue by 1 Billion Dollars. From starting off selling T-shirts in his grandmothers basement to having his company worth Billions of dollars. Now while these numbers might be impressive, something that is just as impressive is what Under Armour continued to do. Looking at Figure 2. From Under Armour’s CSR Report in 2013 you will see that they took that 1.473 billion from 2011 and two years later almost doubled their revenues again. In 2013 Under Armour’s

In 1996, Kevin Plank, a former special teams captain at the University of Maryland had an idea for clothing that would revolutionize the way athletics would be played. In his days in college playing football and going through two-a-days, he knew there had to be a better solution to dealing with perspiration than changing his cotton shirts. Plank created a shirt with moisture-wicking performance fibers, engineered to keep athletes cool, dry, and light even in the most hot and brutal conditions. In 1997, Under Armour created clothes for all seasons, whether it’s cold or hot. As Plank began to search the East coast, he came from selling gear out of the trunk of his car to 1998 where he moved into a new warehouse ("Under Armour, Inc. - History.").

Maryland football player. The company was born out of an idea to make a T-shirt that provided

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

Under Armour, an American based apparel company was developed by Kevin Plank in 1995. As team captain on Maryland’s football team, Plank realized that there was a need for performance wear in the world of sport and so the story goes. Plank has developed a multi-billion dollar company in the past two decades with high expectations for the future. Under Amour has signed with some of the greatest of the greats as it relates to the world of sport such as Cam Newton, Steph Curry, Tom Brady and Lindsey Vonn to name a few.

1. Under Armour was founded in 1995 by Kevin Plank. Kevin played football at the University of Maryland and noticed how often he and he’s teammates had to change their undershirts because of all of the sweat they absorbed. The sweat the shirts absorbed made the shirts much heavier and more uncomfortable. He then noticed that the compressions shorts he was wearing were not nearing as heavy and didn’t absorb the sweat the shirt did. This one simple observation kick-started his experimentation to develop a t-shirt for athletes. He experimented with different fabrics in his grandmothers basements until he thought he created the perfect shirt. He sent the shirts to friends that played in the NFL. After receiving feedback, he perfected the design and made his first deal with Georgia Tech, from there the company took off.

This soon led to him using $20,000 of his own money, $40,000 from credit and a small business loan of $250,000. (Under Armour, 2013) 12 months later, he found himself making his first official pinch to Georgia Tech University. They found interest in his product and decided to wear it as their official team apparel. Shortly after, he found himself supplying performance apparel to more division one football teams and over 24 National Football League teams. He relocated his company from his grandmother’s basement over to the current Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1999, Warner Brothers contracted Under Armour to outfit the actors for two movies, “Any Given Sunday” and “The Replacements”. The athletic apparel was a success and in 2003 the brand had its first official commercial. As the years progressed, Mr. Plank developed a method for retaining clients. He believed in that if you created a product for the people who appreciate it, and then it will sell itself. Furthermore, success was sure to come around, yet rather quickly than he anticipated.

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

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.

Founded in 1996 by University of Maryland graduate Kevin Plank, Under Armour has become the leading supplier of the athletic performance apparel industry. Under Armour began with simple idea to create a t-shirt that would enhance athletic performance by regulating body temperature and removing perspiration

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 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.