Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Has the Under Armour sheen worn off
Just a year-and-a-half ago - Under Armour, after having beaten Adidas in the US - was talking about overtaking Nike. But things have changed.
In 2015, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank took a crack at Adidas calling it his "dumbest competitor". Then came Nike’s turn. Three months ago, its VP of omnichannel, Sid Jatia, went on to say, “Nobody wants to wear Nike anymore because it isn’t cool – it’s in the discount houses, it’s everywhere. People like the underdog and engage with our story more.
Jatia went on to add that the sports brand is all set to mirror its US story in Europe and China. That confidence was not entirely misplaced. Under Armour has been disrupting the market for sports apparel with 23 consecutive quarters of growth. However, now it has come up against hurdles.
Poor results led to the stock tanking spectacularly and its very popular footwear division grew by just 0.3 per cent. The rival it had mocked at – Adidas - witnessed sales rising by 28 per cent in China and 26 per cent in North America in the latest quarter.
All this could change dramatically. Experts believe that Under Armour “needs to re-evaluate where it is and to commit more effort to telling people, particularly outside the UK, what the products are and focus on key product sectors.”