Rise of Under Armour
You think about Nike when you heard about ‘Just Do It‘.
The same with Adidas with ‘Impossible is Nothing‘.
Nike and Adidas has become strong brands in the sportswear industry.
These two brands are so popular that they do not need introduction anymore.
However, recently Fortune magazine reported that the popularity of a new kid on the block – Under Amour is on the rise.
To tell the truth, I have no idea that Under Amour is popular at all. This is not so surprising if you know that it was only founded in the year 1996, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. It didn’t go worldwide until a decade later in 2006.
Its startup story is interesting though. Under Armour was founded by Kevin Plank, a former University of Maryland special teams captain for the university football team. The business began from Plank’s grandmother’s basement in Washington, DC.
Every other interesting business now starts from a garage or a basement, don’t they? If you’re starting in a luxury office, you might want to move elsewhere. 😉
The growth in the early years was due to his intelligent marketing (or luck to everyone else) to the universities where sports teams get team gears.
Under Armour has a long way to go to match Nike’s global reach. Just 6% of revenue comes from abroad, compared with over 60% for Nike. Under Armour has done well in Japan but is barely present in growth areas like China, Brazil, and India. And in footwear, which UA entered in 2006, shoes make up 12% of revenue, but just 1% of the $14 billion U.S. athletic footwear pie, says SGI. Nike’s share is over 42%; Adidas Group’s, 11%.
Source: Fortune
It looks like Under Armour is definitely under watch now. 🙂
Under Armour’s website.