Under Armour

Under Armour is one of the largest and fastest growing activewear clothing line manufacturers in the country. The activewear industry market has been growing considerably over the last decade. Growing demand for activewear, the sporty fashion for both the gym and the streets, has lifted sales for makers of the clothing and the retailers that sell it. (Source: Fortune) The market has grown from Nike and the Adidas being the largest two corporations to an extensive market including Under Armour. Under Armour specifically has increased about ten times in value, over the last decade. The financials show that Under Armour company profits have increased at an annual rate of over 20% and the company has expanded out into footwear. Under Armour stock …show more content…
Under Armour has surpassed Adidas for the No. 2 spot in terms of domestic sportswear sales. Under Armour’s largest selling item, are their sweat wicking apparel. Under Armour has been effective in differentiating their sweat wicking apparel, from cold climate gear to hot humid environments, in a similar manner that NIKE did with their footwear. Under Armour has also followed the path of successful business models, by obtaining exclusive professional athletes to wear their brand. By obtaining exclusive rights from professional athletes wearing the brand, in addition to social media campaigns such as Twitter and being the sole provider of clothing for university sports teams, this increases and reinforces exposure of the brand. Under Armour has established and maintained the popular ‘it’ factor with consumers. Going forward, this should allow the company to further broaden its product portfolio going forward. Under Armour should expand into additional markets beyond what the company has already …show more content…
This means that Under Armour has a tremendous growth opportunities in this competitive market. If Under Armour can capitalize on the leverage they have built upon in the clothing market and have that cross over into footwear, then there is tremendous potential for gains to be had. Sales growth of even 15% a year seems reasonable, which would help Under Armour gain ground in key international geographies and underpenetrated sports realms, such as golf, tennis, and hiking. Product innovation should support market-share advances, as the company has already established a good record of rolling out new performance-oriented sneaker designs at regular intervals. Where Under Armour could break out is by expanding their own footwear lines with their established leading wholesale distributors, including Foot Locker (FL) and Finish Line (FINL). The case mentioned Under Armour has been experimenting with a direct model in its own retail space in recent years. This has mostly involved the opening of factory outlet shops that let the company clear its inventory position and reach untapped rural and suburban U.S. markets. Ecommerce is the future and makes up about 10% of the bottom line, and is quickly becoming more important to Under Armour’s direct-to-consumer strategy. By opening up more outlets shops,