Brands & Branding and Private Labels Case Study

US Sportswear Brand Under Armour’s Extension into Sports Footwear: Will it succeed?

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Abstract:
Under Armour, the sports clothing and accessories company founded by Kevin Plank in 1996, made football t-shirts, designed to maintain body temperature and enhance performance of players. By 2006, the company had generated revenues of $467 million. In May 2008, Under Armour decided to extend into the sports footwear segment by launching performance training footwear and introduced innovative products in spite of the global economic downturn. This brought Under Armour into direct competition with leading players like Nike, Adidas and Reebok. In addition, Under Armour planned to tap markets like Europe and Asia. The company grew by 41% in 2007 compared to 53% in 2006. But, Under Armour's penchant for innovation to weather the global economic downturn and sustain its growth, especially in the US remained to be seen.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the dynamics of the US sportswear industry.
• To valuate the growth of Under Armour as a popular brand.
• To analyse the expansion strategy and its pay-offs.

Keywords :  US sportswear industry, Classification of the US sportswear industry, Growth drivers of the US sportswear industry, Kevin Plank, Under Armour, Growth of Under Armour, Sports footwear segment, Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association (SGMA), Nike, Adidas, Economic downturn in the US, Product differentiation, Brand extension, Expansion strategies