Imagine playing in one of the biggest games of your life and being held back because of what your wearing underneath your gear. That's the way Kevin Plank felt in his football career always having to change underwear because it made him feel sluggish on the field.
Well in 1995 on the football field at Byrd Stadium, when Kevin Plank played for The University of Maryland, he became very frustrated with having to change his sweat soaked cotton undershirt four times a game. Such t-shirts, which weigh six-ounces dry, weigh between two and three pounds wet. "The difference between winning and losing is not a big margin," said Plank (http://www.jhunewsletter.com) When his playing days were done, he set out to New York's famous garment stores to sample fabrics and make a prototype of a t-shirt that wouldn't retain moisture. He found exactly what he was looking for and put it together. He gave his shiny tight shirts to former teammates at Maryland and friends in the NFL, and asked what they thought. Taking their advice, he went back to work and came up with a shirt made from a unique blend of micro fibers designed to wick moisture away from the body to the outside of the shirt keeping a player cool, dry and light.
Plank based his company in the basement of his grandmother's house in Washington, D.C. and eventually made his first team sale to Georgia Tech. By 1997, 12 NCAA Division 1-A teams and 10 NFL teams were wearing the gear, and Under Armour made its first appearance in the Super Bowl when the Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots. When this happened Plank moved his company headquarters to South Baltimore, and set up a manufacturing plant six blocks away. That year Under Armour developed five other product lines Cold Gear, Loose Gear, Turf Gear, All season Gear, and Street Gear to cover every climate and condition an athlete may face in a year. Plank had not only created a company, but a new industry of performance apparel.
In 1998, the NFL Europe signed Plank's company to be the official supplier of performance apparel for its teams. Then in 1999, Warner Brothers contracted Under Armour to outfit its actors for two upcoming football movies, Any Given Sunday starring Al Picino and The Replacements staring Keanu Reeves. The object of putting it in these movies was authenticity and Under Armour delivered.
Under Armour’s product is swim gear. They sell their product by doing what Adidas did, used motivation, emotion, and a message to connect with the audience. But, Under Armour used a famous celebrity named Michael Phelps. The audience starts to pay attention to the ad and either feels connected or wants to be a better athlete like Phelps. Under Armour finally manipulated their audience into buying their
Under Armour started in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a 23-year-old former University of Maryland football player. As a special teams captain, he turned an idea brainstormed on the football filed into a new industry changing the way athletes dress forever. Since he hated having to change his sweat-soaked cotton t-shirts over and over again during two-a-days, he figured there had to be something better, which in turn led to his solution. The basic concept ...
Overall, Under Armor did an outstanding job targeting young, aspiring athletes to do what they want to do with their life. They used logic to show how hard the athletes work along with emotion to show how serious they take their training. Finally, Under Armor used the credibility of the athletes to sell their new training shoe. This commercial will make anyone want to purchase a pair of shoes and workout themselves. Since the commercial is on such a serious level, viewers emotionally connect with it which makes Under Armor seem like the best brand
The jersey is constructed from a mix of several obviously artificial fabrics. Unlike football or lacrosse jerseys, it does not have a very open weave. The insignia, number, and sponsor logo are made from felt and attached to the jersey.
Under Armor is a leading developer and distributor of athletic gear. The product line consists of a wide variety of apparel, footwear, and accessories. Over the past few years, the company has grown at an impressive rate due to their increased product line, expansions to the international market and direct- to- consumer business. Analyzing Porter’s Five Forces will aid in understanding what the company will face and potentially overcome moving forward.
Under Armour’s target market is consumers that are involved in physical activities. The demographic age groups that they cater to varies from youth to adults. Their products can with stand any weather condition from cold weather to warm weather, which means their product can be used in any geographic location. These consumers can be either light user like walkers or heavy users like football players.
Lefton, Terry (2009, Jan 19). NFL close to adding P&G to sponsor list. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from
their helmets in 1948. In the 1950 season the Rams were the first team to
Initially, Under Armour focused on selling their products to Division I college football programs. As a former captain for the Maryland Terrapins football team, Plank got tired of wearing heavy cotton t-shirts under his football pads in the hot summer months, and multiple turtlenecks under his pads during the cold late fall months. As a business major at College Park, Plank developed the idea of Under Armour for a management class.
The sports apparel and accessories industry has a highly competitive market. Businesses are constantly competing for elite athletes to sponsor, raw materials, and every opportunity to expand. Under Armour is able to not only survive but thrive in this market because of their ability to think outside of the box. They are constantly creating new and exciting products that help athletes everywhere.
Many global companies like Nike, Inc. are seen as role models both in the market place as well as in society in large. That is why they are expected to act responsibly in their dealings with humanity and the natural world. Nike benefits from the global sourcing opportunities, therefore areas such as production and logistics have been outsourced to partner companies in low-wage countries like China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. As a result the company is limited nowadays to its core competencies of Design and Marketing.
A Greek would say, "When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike." According to Greek Mythology, The Nike was the winged goddess of victory. Daughter of the titan Pallas and the river Styx, Nike sat at the side of the omnipotent Zeus for the duration of his plight with the titans. The goddess Nike came to be an everlasting symbol of victory and dominance on the battlefields of ancient Greece. In light of her conquests, a popular footwear company of the 20th century designed products in her name to push new levels of achievement in athletes worldwide. The Swoosh logo at the side of each shoe is intended to represent the wing of the Greek Goddess Nike. The vibrant spirit of this ancient goddess has bridged the gap between ancient mythology and modern technology, and manifested itself through the most successful shoe company of all time.
Under Armour has always set aggressive targets for themselves and they should not change that now. The leadership team believes that “a 3% share of the (athletic footwear) market would nearly double UA’s total revenue” (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2015, 2012, 2010), and this should be another one of the metrics that Under Armour monitors and grows.
...ual Income Statement). Adidas has chosen not to make their advertising plans publicly known (How Much Money Does Adidas Spend on Advertising?).Under Armour is an up and coming company founded in 1996, their net income starting at 46.79 million and by 2013 ending with 162.17 million dollars (UA Annual Income Statement). Under Armour is focusing their advertising on internet marketing and mobile marketing, 6,500 dollars towards a mobile app and an overall advertising budget of 40,000 (Zoe Suffety).
Founded by the Benetton family in the 1960s, Benetton is one of the largest garment retailers, with stores which bear its name located in almost all parts of the world.. It could be interesting to analyse the technical development of such an important company going through the different theories of technology.