Under Armour Kevin Plank History

Nike was introduced in 1971, as a small organization which has grown into a multi-billion organization, as one of the top sellers of sports apparel as well as having endorsements.

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight started Nike Inc. in 1971, formally known as Blue Ribbon Sports. Bill Bowerman was a former track and field coach at the University of Oregon, and Phil Knight was a student-athlete at the University of Oregon. After numerous years of supplying under Blue Ribbon Sports, the two decided to enter the athletic shoe manufacturing business. The first employee of the company was Jeff Johnson, who helped them with branding what is known today as NIKE Inc.

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.

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

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.

When you realise this you could also understand why Art Spiegelman choose mice to represent the Jews in Maus. Mice are generally seen as, small, weak but most of all filthy animals. The way I just described mice is exactly the way how Nazi’s thought about Jews. The perfect combination of how people think about mice and how Nazi’s thought about Jews made Spiegelman choose this animal. However this wasn’t the reason why he came up with the idea of using mice, as he says in an interview.

Nike is a company that has thoroughly embedded itself into the psyche of people around the world. It's a company that started with humble origins from selling footwear in the basement to becoming the behemoth in the athletic industry. Bill Bowerman, University of Oregon track & field coach, and Phil Knight, middle-distance runner under Bowerman co-founded Nike. Nike was first established as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 as a partnership and the name Nike was officially adopted on May 30, 1978. The infamous Nike Logo - Swoosh, was created for a fee of $35 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphics design student. In 1980, Nike becomes a publicly traded company with the completion of its Initial Public Offering of 2,377,000 shares

Nike Inc. is a very large, well-known brand which is a direct competitor with Lululemon, Nike have a well-known reputation in the sporting world, targeting many different athletes with a large product line while sponsoring and getting athletes to represent their product line. Nikes market capital is $86.6 billion while their revenue is $34.35 billion, Nikes market share in Q2 of 2017 rose to 39.93% with their footwear dominating the market with 51.88% (NKE Sales vs. its Competitors Q2 2017, 2017).

Nike was founded under the name Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. In 1972 the first pair of sports shoes was sold and experienced enormous growth and achieved a 50% market share within the sports shoe market in the US only eight years later.

An analysis of Nike’s stock from when it went public in 1980 to now shows a clear upward trend overall. It should be noted, however, that in 2015 Nike issued a 2-1 stock split which in effect increases its number of outstanding shares while at the same time, lowers the price. This makes the stock more favorable to smaller investors looking to own Nike.

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

Phil Knight and his track coach Bill Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. The company started as being a distributor of Onituska Tiger athletic shoes which were imported from Japan. In 1971 they broke away from Onituska and created their own of shoes. The company was renamed, Nike. It became the largest worldwide seller of athletic shoes. They branched out and created various products lines; shoes, clothing, sporting goods and digital devices. They used celebrities to promote their products. The first athlete to wear and promote their show was runner Steve Prefontaine. Their now well know swoosh was first seen in the 1972 US Track and Field Trials. Every basketball player in high school wanted a pair of Michael Jordan’s,

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.

Nike grew at a compounded 20 percent growth rate and earned a 31 percent ROE for its shareholders through most of the past decade.

“On January 25, 1964 Nike, formerly known as Blue Ribbon Sports was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phillip Knight. It officially became Nike Incorporated on May 30, 1978”(Nike Business). During the late 70s to early 80s Nike’s initial focus was Track and Field but later expanded into various sports such as : soccer, golf, hockey and basketball just to name a few.” In 1980, Nike entered the decade on the success of its Nike Air technology, and at the end of that year Nike completed its initial public offering (IPO) and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The reason for going public was typically viewed as a means of raising addition capital without having to borrow, and also increase the company’s profile by