brand report: under armour

Brand Report: Brand Profile and Analysis

FSH630 Fashion Marketing Strategy Module 3

Shraddha Kutty

03604064

Index

1. Brand Introduction § Brand description + Timeline § Brand profile § Mission statement, Vision, Value Proposition § Branding elements § Brand personality, Concept board § Target consumer profile, lifestyle board

2. Situation Analysis

§ Current business/ Market environment issues + trends

§ Competitor Analysis § SWOT Analysis

3. Marketing Analysis: 4Ps

§ Products: Merchandising strategy + Product category

§ Pricing strategy + Price points § Place: Distribution Strategy + Distribution

channels § Promotion: Marketing communication

strategy + Marketing channels 4. Citation

Business Summary Under Armour is a manufacturer and distributor of performance apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children. The company's products use moisture-wicking fabrics that are engineered in many designs and styles for wear in nearly every climate. The company sells its product worldwide with a significant percent of sales coming from North America. The company's distribution includes both wholesale and retail channels. Its products are worn by athletes at all levels, from youth to professional on playing fields around the globe, as well as by consumers with active lifestyles.

Brand Profile: Description Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former football player with the University of Maryland. He developed a synthetic shirt that wicked away sweat. This product was the need of the hour at the time for athletes and active people alike. The company began developing many innovative performance-wear thereafter. The company was originally named KP Sports and changed their name in March 2005 when they went public. Now, Under Armour is leading the "compression" athletic apparel market, popular in the elementary-school playground, where its $20-$40 T-shirts and turtlenecks are must-have items (Bloomberg.com). The company markets its products as “gearlines”, which primarily include, HeatGear®, designed to be worn in warm to hot temperatures under equipment or as a single layer; ColdGear® designed to wick moisture from the body while circulating body heat from hotspots to maintain core body temperature; AllSeasonGear®, designed to be worn in changing temperatures. Under Armour is now developing their new app called “Connected Fitness,” which began after acquiring MapMyFitness. They aim to design open, digital products for future athletes and provide health and lifestyle solutions on a global scale. Connected Fitness is growing rapidly and it is being positioning Under Armour to be the leader in the social media spectrum as well (Under Armour Annual Report, 2013).

Brand Profile: History Under Armour Timeline 1996: Kevin Plank develops his first microfiber T-shirt to keep athletes dry during workouts and games. 1997: Introduced the now-famous ColdGear® fabric which keeps athletes warm, dry, and light in cold conditions, and then the AllSeasonGear® line, which keeps athletes comfortable between the extremes. 1998: Under Armour outgrew grandma's basement and moved to an all-new headquarters and warehouse in Baltimore 1999-2001:

§ Plank and his team signed on to supply product for the Oliver Stone film Any Given Sunday starring Al Pacino and Jamie Foxx

§ Bought the first print ad in ESPN the Magazine § Formed relationships with key retail partners and professional

sports leagues [including Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and the Baltimore Marathon].

2002: The Brand moves its global headquarters to an old soap factory in the Tide Point section of south Baltimore located on the historic Inner Harbor. 2003: Officially launched its women's performance gear line, UA Women 2004: Launched boys' and girls' and Outdoor athletes 2005:

§ Under Armour Golf is launched. § First all-school deal with Plank's alma mater, the University of

Maryland. § On November 18, 2005 Under Armour went public and became the

first U.S.-based initial public offering in five years to double on its first day of trading.

2006: Click-Clack® launched the brand into the footwear business through the introduction of its first line of football cleats and the Brand captured a 23% share of the market in just the first year. UA expanded its cleat business to include baseball, softball and lacrosse cleats.

2008:

§ Official entry into the athletic footwear market § Beginning of key additions to UA’s elite roster of world-class athletes

2010:

§ UA added the most accomplished Olympian of all-time and Baltimore native Michael Phelps, two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, and a young tennis phenomenon named Sloane Stephens.

§ Surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue almost quadrupling revenues in a five-year period

2011:

§ Opened its first-ever brand store in China and became the official technical partner to Tottenham Hotspur of the Barclays Premier League. The Tottenham Hotspur partnership is Under Armour's largest individual team deal to date

§ Developed Charged Cotton®, a line of cotton apparel that dries fast

and performs. From Charged Cotton came Charged Cotton Storm, which gives athletes the same quick-drying cotton with revolutionary water-resistant technology.

§ Developed Armour39™, the first-ever performance monitoring

system that measures what matters most to an athlete: your WILLpower™.

Brand Profile: Mission // Vision “TO MAKE ALL ATHLETES BETTER THROUGH PASSION, DESIGN AND THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF INNOVATION.” -Under Armour mission statement (Mission, uabiz.com)

“EMPOWER ATHLETES EVERYWHERE.” -Under Armour vision statement (underarmour.jobs.com) The UA jobs website also includes other commitments the company swears to work by. Hey are as follows, 4 Pillars of Greatness

§ MAKE A GREAT PRODUCT § TELL A GREAT STORY § PROVIDE GREAT SERVICE § BUILD A GREAT TEAM

Value Proposition The primary sources of Under Armour's value are its apparel and footwear businesses, and together they contribute around 89% of Under Armour's value. Apparel is more valuable than Footwear and Accessories businesses for the following reasons:

MARKET LEADER IN PERFORMANCE APPAREL MARKET

Under Armour is the current market leader in the performance apparel market with over 70% market share. All three apparel gear lines of the company i.e. HOTGEAR, COLDGEAR and ALLSEASONGEAR are extremely popular among professional athletes as well as consumers.

However, in the footwear and accessories businesses, Under Armour faces tougher competition with established players such as Nike and Adidas.

Brand Profile: Ownership // Size // Financial Performance BOARD MEMBERS

LEAD DIRECTOR

COMPANY

Alvin Krongard Johns Hopkins Health System Corp/The

CEO/FOUNDER COMPANY

Kevin Plank Under Armour Inc

BOARD MEMBERS COMPANY

Anthony Deering Exeter Capital LLC

Harvey Sanders Nautica Enterprises Inc

Douglas Coltharp HealthSouth Corp

George Bodenheimer ESPN Inc

William McDermott SAP SE

Karen Katz Neiman Marcus Group LLC/The

Eric Olson Eto Group LLC

Byron Adams Under Armour Inc

Thomas Sippel Gill Sippel & Gallagher

(Under Armour Annual Report, 2013) (UA Under Armour Company Profile, Bloomberg.com)

Under Armour Inc. reeled in $3.08 billion in revenue in 2014, an increase of 32 percent from the previous year and the first time the company topped $3 billion in annual sales. (Sarah Meehan, bizjournals.com) Stock Performance Graph The stock performance graph below compares cumulative total return on Under Armour, Inc. Class A Common Stock to the cumulative total return of the NYSE Market Index and S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods Index from December 31, 2008 through December 31, 2013. The graph assumes an initial investment of $100 in Under Armour and each index as of December 31, 2008 and reinvestment of any dividends. The performance shown on the graph below is not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.

(Under Armour Annual Report, 2013) Seasonality According to the UA Annual Report 2013, “Seasonality Historically, we have recognized a majority of our net revenues and a significant portion of our income from operations in the last two quarters of the year, driven primarily by increased sales volume of our products during the fall selling season, including our higher priced cold weather products, along with a larger proportion of higher margin direct to consumer sales. The level of our working capital generally reflects the seasonality and growth in our business. We generally expect inventory, accounts payable and certain accrued expenses to be higher in the second and third quarters in preparation for the fall selling season”.

Annual Income Statement Year

Ending Dec 2014

Year Ending Dec 2013


Revenue 3.08B 2.33B 1.83B 1.47B Cost of Revenue 1.50B 1.14B 912.54M 723.55M Gross Operating Profit 1.58B 1.19B 922.38M 749.14M Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses

1.16B 871.57M 670.60M 550.07M

Operating Income before D & A (EBITDA) 426.05M 315.65M 251.78M 199.07M Depreciation & Amortization 72.09M 50.55M 43.08M 36.30M Other Income - Net -6.41M -1.17M -73,000.00 -2.06M Total Income Before Interest Expenses (EBIT)

347.54M 263.93M 208.62M 160.70M

Interest Expense 5.34M 2.93M 5.18M 3.84M Pre-Tax Income 342.21M 260.99M 203.44M 156.86M Income Taxes 134.17M 98.66M 74.66M 59.94M Net Income From Continuing Operations 208.04M 162.33M 128.78M 96.92M Net Income From Total Operations 208.04M 162.33M 128.78M 96.92M Total Net Income 208.04M 162.33M 128.78M 96.92M Normalized Income (Net Income From Continuing Operations, Ex. Special Income / Charge)

208.04M 162.33M 128.78M 96.92M

Net Income Available To Common 208.04M 162.33M 128.78M 96.92M Basic EPS from Continuing Ops. 0.98 0.77 0.62 0.47 Basic EPS from Total Operations 0.98 0.77 0.62 0.47 Basic EPS, Total 0.98 0.77 0.62 0.47 Basic Normalized Net Income/Share 0.98 0.77 0.62 0.47 EPS fr Continuing Ops. 0.95 0.75 0.61 0.46 EPS fr Total Ops. 0.95 0.75 0.61 0.46 EPS, Total 0.95 0.75 0.61 0.46 Diluted Normalized Net Inc/Shr (Net Income From Continuing Operations, Ex. Special Income / Charge)

0.95 0.75 0.61 0.46

Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Historical financial information is provided by MorningStar, Inc. The company makes no representations or warranties with respect to the information contained herein and takes no responsibility for supplementing, updating, or correcting any such information. (Financial History, uabiz.com)


Brand Profile: Branding Elements The six branding elements that UA successfully uses are the following;

1. Core Higher Purpose Under Armour stands for a relentless overcoming of obstacles and becoming winners on the field. The brand essence revolves around being the underdog, being hungry, competing against the best – and winning. Its tagline “I will” captures this passion, intensity and drive. It is not about delivering functional benefits, although they do that. Like many underdog brands, it has an attitude. In fact, it has been described as “attitude clothing” (Stuart Elliott, nytimes.com).

2. A Signature Story

Under Armour’s signature story represents its key brand cores of innovation, not to mention its core target of athletes concerned with performance. Founder/ CEO Kevin Plank was a football player at Maryland in the mid-1990s when he became frustrated by his cotton t-shirt that got wet, heavy and uncomfortable during workouts. This led Plank to create undergarments with materials that would “wick and dry” the sweat from his clothing. Plank created and led a new niche market of performance clothing that stays fresh and dry. Today, Under Armour has a 75% market share.

3. Brand Strategy The first US commercial that was aired in 2003 declared, “we must protect this house” focusing more on team sports and challenges. It strategically featured few “underdog” athletes, like itself in the sports wear market to compete with Nike, a clear sports wear giant. It was in this campaign where the punchline “I will” was later emphasized.

4. Innovation The UA apparel is designed and manufactured to suit the needs of athletes, high physical activity and fitness and the products are merchandised along “gearlines” instead of the traditional collection. The Heatgear, Coldgear, Allseasongear and Magzip technology are all examples of the innovative products UA develops.

5. Unique Brand Portfolio Under Armour has branded their innovations such as Infrared, Coldback and MagZip and has actively managed each of those brands. They have also provided coherence with umbrella brands such as UA Heat Gear, UA Coldgear and UA Glow Collection. Furthermore, they serve higher purposes with their lines; UA Power in Pink (using fitness to fight breast cancer), UA Freedom (which helps wounded veterans), UA Green (building green initiatives into their gear) and UA Youth Movement (promoting the cause of youth fitness) all under the UA Give Back umbrella brand.

6. Expansion Strategy UA has managed to increase their business without losing their brand DNA something that not a lot of big businesses can consistently keep up with. Apple, Nike, Starbucks and Google are great examples of successful business expansions. UA has maintained their “self-expressive” and practical performance wear with the right kind of representatives for their campaigns. Developing womenswear clothing with great campaigns by strong female presence has been a success. For example, Misty Copeland the American Ballet Theater dancer and Heather Mitta, soccer star. They have currently roped in Gisele Bundchen as well making UA something for everyone.

(David Aaker, prophet.com)

Brand Profile: Personality + Concept Board The brand has a strong “underdog” personality despite its revenue of $1bn in the last few years and uses this strong DNA in its campaigns. The brand only recently signed on a marquee athlete, Stephen Curry who will be starring in an ad with Jamie Foxx for the new Curry1 shoe that will be in stores on 13 February. In this case, the UA personality comes across as being, HARDWORKING DARING EFFICIENT STRONG Using Keller’s Consumer-based Brand Equity model for Under Armour, I surmise; Resonance: Loyal consumers due to the sponsorships given by UA to the USA sports teams, athletes and highly innovative products Judgment: High quality products for different types of sports Feelings: Strength and resilient attitude due to the fit and feel of the products Performance: Long lasting durable products Imagery: Resonate strong performance, endurance and technology Salience: Highly innovative and high quality sports performance wear

Brand Concept Board

Lifestyle Board

Situation Analysis: Current Business & Market Environment Activewear has been frequently tainted by labor issues owing to the outsourcing of manufacture and production to underdeveloped or developing countries. There have been red flags of human rights violations and questionable working environments and practices. According to the UA Annual Report, 2013 they require that “all manufacturers adhere to a code of conduct regarding quality of manufacturing and working conditions and other social concerns.” Petroleum Prices have been increasing steadily over the past few years, which will consequently affect the cost of production of companies dependent on microfiber and oil-based technology.

Brand Profile: Target Consumer Profile Under Armour, Inc. (UA) sells high-performance products that are focused on professional and college athletes. The brand began by targeting the male athlete between the ages of 17-49, but its new $15 million marketing campaign shifted and expanded its focus on women. Fitness enthusiasts and consumers of above average income.

Competitor Analysis: Nike // Adidas // Columbia Sportswear Co. In the sportswear, footwear, accessories market UA is up against not only just new entrants but also the well-established sportswear giants such as Nike, adidas and Columbia Sportswear Company. Nike and adidas have greater resources and strong worldwide brand recognition as compared to UA. UA also needs to compete with various sportswear apparel companies for floor space in various retail stores.

Product Diversity Comparison Company Geographic

Coverage Product Diversity Marketing Advantages

Nike Global Performance apparel, casual apparel, jerseys, footwear, equipment

Athletic sponsorships (Ronaldo, Rooney, etc.) Strong brand identity

Low-cost outsourcing, distribution via retailers/ factory stores

Adidas Global Footwear, performance apparel, casual apparel, jerseys, soccer kits, equipment

Fifa World Cup Sponsor, athletic sponsorships, runner/ soccer products, intl sports


Columbia Sportswear Company

Global Outerwear, footwear, headgear, camping equipment, accessories, skiwear

Focus on tough/ outdoor activities (skiing, hiking, camping(

N/A

Under Armour

Global Performance apparel (Heatgear, Coldgear, AllSeasongear), footwear

#IWILLWHATIWANT campaign, Stephen Curry for Curry1, Michael Phelps


Company Geographic Coverage

Product Diversity Marketing Advantages

Nike Beaverton, OR Converse, Hurley $7.0 billion (Nike only)

Nike

Adidas Herzogenaurach, Germany

Reebok, TaylorMade-adidas golf, Rockport

$16.04 billion (total)

Adidas

Columbia Sportswear Company

Portland, OR Sorel Corporation, Mountain Hardwear, Montrail

$1.684 billion Columbia Sportswear Company

Under Armour Baltimore, MD $2.33 billion Under Armour

Competitor Analysis: Nike // Adidas // Columbia Sportswear Co

(facts and figures from Annual Reports of Adidas, Nike, UA and Columbia Sportswear Co.)

Nike and adidas have a better global outreach than UA, something UA is only working on now.

Market Size Performance sportswear global market was worth $135 billion in 2012. It is forecasted to reach $178 billion between 2012-2019 owing to various factors such as fitness consciousness, sports apparel popularity for women and growing trends for stylish and comfortable sportswear. Asia Pacific and Latin American countries are contributing due to the rising trend toward healthy lifestyle in these countries. Apparel Sales Of Some Of The Leading Players In The Market (in millions)

Company Fiscal 2010 Fiscal 2011 Fiscal 2012 CAGR (2010-2012)

Adidas (includes Reebok) $7,023 (€5,380) $7,484 (€5,733) $8,211 (€6,290) 8.1% Nike $5,026 $5,513 $6,333 12.3% Puma $1,229 (€941.3) $1,352 (€1,035.6) $1,504 (€1,151.9) 10.6% Under Armour $853 $1,122 $1,385 27.4% Lululemon athletica $712 $1,001 $1,370 38.7% Asics $427 (¥42,576) $439 (¥43,685) $470 (¥46,838) 4.9% (forbes.com)

Company Regions Percentage of Sales (2013)

Nike United States Europe Middle East and Africa Asia Pacific/Latin America

(See below for revenue statistics)

Adidas North America Latin America European Emerging Markets Western Europe Greater China Other Asian Markets

23% 11% 13% 26% 12% 15%

Under Armour United States/Canada Rest of the world

94.1% 5.9%

Competitor Analysis: Nike // Adidas // Columbia Sportswear Co

Company Target Consumer

Nike Active individuals who want high quality sporting goods of all types

Adidas Track and soccer athletes

Columbia Outdoorsy people (hiking, skiing, camping)

Under Armour Athletes who are serious about increasing performance in their respective sport

In spite of the growing Under Armour has to do in order to overtake its competitors in terms of brand recognition and global popularity, there are several recent leaps taken by the company.

Mass Market Exclusivity

Affordability

Prestige Price

SWOT Analysis Strengths Development and launch of new products and a growing product portfolio viz. Coldgear, Heatgear, Allseasongear, UA Tech, Charged Cotton (naturally fast-drying cotton), Stormfleece (with improved water-resistant finish) in various sports categories such as football, soccer, track and field, baseball, basketball, swimming, skiing, golf, rugby, and UFC fighting. This keeps them competitive and visible in the marketplace.

“The company’s also been launching highly visible marketing campaigns, top-profile endorsements. Publicly competing with the likes of Nike, inc.—for Kevin Durant—and Adidas AG (ADDYY)—for English soccer club Manchester United—creates recognition in the public eye. Although UA lost out on both bids, the attempts signal that the brand is ready to compete with the larger players on a global scale” (Phalguni Soni, marketrealist.com). Weaknesses According to the UA Annual Report, 2013, third parties manufacture all the “specialty fabrics” and other raw materials. This gives way to discrepancies in product development and quality assurance. The products are also priced highly in a bracket that an individual who is a potential/ developing/ amateur sportsperson would not be able to afford without sponsorship. UA depends heavily on the US market (sales accounted for 94% from North America alone; UA Anuual Report, 2013). Opportunities After acquiring MapMyFitness and Endomondo, UA developed the UA Record app that is aimed to connecting the worldwide fitness community and creating a social platform through the brand or “Connected Fitness”. Opening up to womenswear in 2013 with a renewed approach certainly increased their revenue. UA is also taking steps to address their limited geographic exposure by using UA Record, increasing stores outside of North America. They now have more UA offices outside the US than within thereby increasing their global footprint. Threats Competing with giants in the neck-to-neck competition by giants such as Nike, Adidas. Exchange rate fluctuations and rising costs of labor in Asia are key concerns for UA. The fabrics used by UA suppliers and manufacturers are primarily synthetic fabrics and involve raw materials, including petroleum-based products that may be subject to price fluctuations and shortages.

Marketing Analysis: 4Ps Products: Merchandising Strategy & Product Categories UA’s merchandising strategy is aimed at widening product offerings; target additional consumer segments and enlisting retailers to increase distribution. From just football apparel, and football-related sportswear, Under Armour today offers sportswear performance apparel for nearly all mainstream and non-mainstream sports alike. Following are the broadly available product categories on the UA website; Basketball Baseball Golf Running Military/ Tactical Boxing Fishing Field Hockey Football Hockey Hunting Lacrosse Ski/ Snowboard Soccer Softball Surf/ Swim Studio/ Yoga Tennis Training Volleyball There is also a separate line called ‘Tough Mudder’ which offers endurance apparel for the event series, its namesake. UA struck a sponsorship deal with Tough Mudder marking it as UA’s first endurance event sponsorship. According to an article about the deal in Forbes magazine, “the deal gives the athletic clothing maker exclusivity in the footwear and apparel categories at Tough Mudder events” (forbes.com).

Products Since UA focuses on innovation and quality performance apparel, the product lines are marketed in their own way – “gearlines”. Each gearline is appropriate for specific climatic conditions aimed at providing comfortable and least-resistant training in respective physical activities. The apparel comes in a range of styles, fits enhanced to regulate body temperature and mobility. “In 2013, sales of apparel, footwear and accessories represented 76%, 13% and 9% of net revenues, respectively. Licensing arrangements, primarily for the sale of our products, represented the remaining 2% of net revenues.” (Under Armour Annual Report 2013) Apparel According to the UA Annual Report 2013 the “gearlines are marketed to tell a very simple story about our highly technical products and extend across the sporting goods, outdoor and active lifestyle markets”. The apparel is marketed as choices to the consumer to purchase HEATGEAR® when it is hot, COLDGEAR® when it is cold and ALLSEASONGEAR® between the extremes. Each gearline features three primary fit types: Compression (tight fit) Fitted (athletic fit) Loose (relaxed). HEATGEAR® is designed to be worn in warm to hot temperatures under equipment or as a single layer. While a sweat-soaked traditional non-performance T-shirt can weigh two to three pounds, HEATGEAR® is engineered with a microfiber blend designed to wick moisture from the body which helps the body stay cool, dry and light. HEATGEAR® is offered in a variety of tops and bottoms in a broad array of colors and styles for wear in the gym or outside in warm weather. COLDGEAR® is designed to wick moisture from the body while circulating body heat from hot spots to help maintain core body temperature. COLDGEAR® apparel provides both dryness and warmth in a single light layer that can be worn beneath a jersey, uniform, protective gear or ski-vest, and COLDGEAR® outerwear products protect the athlete. COLDGEAR® products are sold at higher prices as compared to products of other gearlines.

ALLSEASONGEAR® is designed to be worn in between extreme temperatures and uses technical fabrics to keep the wearer cool and dry in warmer temperatures while preventing a chill in cooler temperatures. Footwear UA introduced footwear for men, women and youth in 2006 and have only been increasing this segment ever since. This department includes footwear that is appropriate for football, baseball, lacrosse, softball and soccer cleats, slides and performance training footwear, running footwear, basketball footwear and hunting boots. It is described as being light, breathable and built with performance attributes for athletes. UA footwear is designed with a range of innovative details, which provide “stabilization, directional cushioning and moisture management engineered to maximize the athlete’s comfort and control.” Accessories Accessories primarily include the sale of headwear, bags and gloves of HEATGEAR® and COLDGEAR® technologies. They are designed with advanced fabrications to provide the same level of performance as other UA products. Marketing Analysis: 4Ps Price: Pricing Strategy // Price Points

The Under Armour brand is price-positioned as the highest quality available. Under Armour is advertised as higher quality and can enjoy the advantage of higher price points. Their new running shoe line will be marketed to adhere to the Under Armour brand position of quality and innovation. According to Forbes.com, UA uses a ‘value-based pricing” or VBP approach wherein data on the perceived customer value of the product is used as the determining factor of the final selling price. Therefor, the VBP approach helps to create additional customer value and increase customer willingness to pay despite strong competition (Greg Petro, forbes.com) The price points for UA is anywhere between 39 dollars to well over 100 dollars. They are roughly equivalent to competitor price ranges.

Marketing Analysis: 4Ps Place: Distribution Strategy The majority of sales are generated through wholesale channels, which include national and regional sporting goods chains, independent and specialty retailers, department store chains, institutional athletic departments and leagues and teams. In addition, UA products are sold to independent distributors in various countries where there are no direct sales operations and operations are carried out through licensees. Products are directly sold to consumers through a network of in-house brand and factory house stores in our North America and Asia operating segments, and through website operations in North America and certain countries in Europe. These factory house stores serve an important role in the overall inventory management by allowing selling a significant portion of excess, discontinued and out-of-season products while maintaining the pricing integrity of the brand in other distribution channels. Through their brand house stores, consumers experience a first-hand brand setting and have broader access to performance products. In 2013, wholesale sales, direct to consumer and licensing channels represented 68% , 30% and 2% of net revenues, respectively. “We believe the trend toward performance products is global and plan to continue to introduce our products and simple merchandising story to athletes throughout the world. We are introducing our performance apparel, footwear and accessories outside of North America in a manner consistent with our past brand-building strategy, including selling our products directly to teams and individual athletes in these markets, thereby providing us with product exposure to broad audiences of potential consumers.” (UA Annual Report 2013)

Marketing Analysis: 4Ps Promotion: Marketing Strategy Under Armour maintains a disciplined marketing approach that restricts spending to no more than 11% of revenue. (EJ Schultz, adage.com) The reinvention of their women’s line in 2013 earned them the Marketer of the Year award by Ad age. The campaign was structured Leanne Fremar, senior VP and Creative Director (Women’s Business). This successful global campaign enlisted unconventional woman icons such as supermodel Giselle Bundchen and American Ballet Theatre soloist Misty Copeland. Securities and Exchange Commission filling reveals Under Armour (NYSE: UA) spent $333 million on marketing in 2014. Those costs increased $86.5 million, or 35 percent, from $246.5 million in 2013 — primarily a result of growing sponsorship of professional teams and athletes. The spending spike for marketing came during Under Armour's biggest year yet. The company posted more than $3 billion in revenue in 2014. (Sarah Meehan, bizjournals.com) After a redesign of their website by HUGE inc, UA got a lot of attention and sales from their women consumers online. A few points on areas, which UA capitalizes on to increase sales and keep the brand interesting: 1. Focus on UA roots – Innovation + Performance With the increasing popularity of healthy living, fitness and lifestyle the sports apparel market segment now includes high fashion sportswear as well. However Under Armour has focused greatly on its key roots- innovation and performance. For instance the “high-tech Olympic speed-skating suit developed with Lockheed Martin”. "This isn't about putting a product on a speedskater and sales go through the roof," Under Armour chief financial officer Brad Dickerson told the Baltimore Sun. "It's more about the long-term perception of the brand being innovative." (Lydia DePillis, washingtonpost.com) 2. College and Youth Sponsorships Marketing to the youth and younger sections help form a strong brand perception with a fresh generation of individuals who in turn would be peer influencers to the generation that follows. Besides this, they have CSR initiatives such as UA Power in Pink for breast cancer awareness, UA Win Global for kids belonging to undeserved communities and UA Protect this House to support individuals of various military offices.

Sports Marketing Under Armour’s sports marketing strategy includes entering into outfitting agreements with a variety of collegiate and professional sports teams, sponsoring an assortment of collegiate and professional sports events, and selling Under Armour products directly to team equipment managers and to individual athletes. Recent and ongoing sponsorship deals, including a number of new high-profile collegiate partners and an increasing number of international teams, give us high confidence the brand will be sought after for at least the next 5-10 years, driving returns on capital higher from the midteens to the mid-20s over the next decade. The firm has also picked its spots with individual athletes, preferring to bet on younger stars such as Cam Newton in football and Derrick Williams in basketball and Olympic athletes such as Michael Phelps and Lindsey Vonn. (Paul Swinand, analysisreport.morningstar.com)

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