Preview

Under Armour Case Analysis Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2614 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Under Armour Case Analysis Essay
Under Armour Case Analysis
Abstract
Under Armour is a sports apparel, footwear, and accessories company that is quickly becoming a global force to be reckoned with. The company is competing in a saturated market and has maintained the ability to grow. Analysis of the company shows that it should: look for alternative sources of materials and suppliers; continue a marketing campaign using athlete endorsements; and, model expansion into new foreign countries after the successful entrances into areas such as Europe. Reasoning behind these recommendations is shown in the analysis below.
Background
Under Armour was established in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former football player with the University of Maryland. Plank saw the potential for the
…show more content…
The rivalry among established companies is high. The sports apparel industry is very competitive for multiple reasons. There are a large number of companies and a high volume of demand, both factors increases rivalry. Low switching costs for customers also increases the competition. Under Armour’s main competitors have large levels of capital at their disposal. Key players in the industry include Nike, Adidas and Reebok. Generally lower levels of product differentiation also increase the rivalry between these companies. The threat of new potential entrants is moderately high. The sports apparel market has been subject to continuous changes of trends that have increased its popularity. These trends include: a rise in concern for healthier living, and higher participation in sports.. Any attempt at a new entrant would have to put out a lot of capital on marketing and advertising to prove as competition for these companies. The threat of substitute products is high. The market for sports apparel, athletic footwear, and sports accessories is large and fragmented with more than 25 companies. Nike, who is an industry leader, only has about 4% of the market share of sports apparel and 17% of the footwear market. These numbers support the evidence that gaining market share is extremely difficult. The bargaining power of buyers is high. Price sensitive customers have a lot of power as the costs to switch between brands are extremely low or nonexistent and customers have multiple product options when purchasing. In this market, buyers are divided and no individual buyer has the ability to influence a product or price, however overall disloyalty to a brand can give segments of consumers levels of power. The bargaining power of suppliers is moderate. In the sports apparel industry there is a large amount of suppliers that companies can choose between to manufacture their products. However, for Under

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Under Armour is a company that started IN WHAT YEAR in the basement of former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, but is a now large and very well known company. Under Armour has grown to be one of the top selling brands of athletic wear and is rapidly growing.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Under Amour’s strength is innovative and unique technology of their products. “For example, in 2013, the company released a shirt that tracks athlete’s heart. Sensors in the brand’s shirt are able to pick up electrical signals from the heart. Additionally, Under Armour developed the tape replacing clear that gives ultimate support, and pivot freedom for athletes.” (Horovitz 2012) These Innovations give Under Armour a competitive edge against other sporting retail brands. As the company continues to keep up with society’s technology advances, it can remain a hot topic in its industry in the eyes of many consumers. Also with the invention of the compression undershirt, Under Armour was founded on innovation within the athletic industry. From the company’s humble beginning to now, Under Armour has kept a continuous focus on meeting the changing needs of athletic industry with new, innovation technology. The company has a natural fast-dying cotton.(Jackson and Day P12-18)…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Case Study Under Armour

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In this case, I will provide my recommendations, analyze, and share my interpretation of this case. Under Armour( UA) is a distributor of athletic apparel, accessories and shoe wear. There strategic issued is to be able to compete in the sports apparel industry against big names such as Nike and Adidas. In order for them to be successful, they have to be able to meet their market share. UA needs to open up its industry to include more women apparel and shoe wear as well as reach other people globally. In order for them to target a large number of consumers and to compete against Nike or Adidas, they need to be able to reach the same genre of people in the United States and other countries. One strategic issue the company is facing is in the…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When it comes to athletic apparel, the first company people think of is either Nike or Adidas. Why? Both Nike and Adidas have done an impressive job in marketing their products, with popular spokesperson like Kobe Bryant or Derrick Rose. Nike’s success is attributed to its products contributing to the success of the athletes who purchase them. Nike and Adidas seemed as though they had control on the athletic apparel oligopoly, but recently, Under Armour has become a serious competitor to the two companies. The road to becoming a legitimate competitor has been tough, specifically because of the competitive nature existing between firms in the same market. The market structure, determinants of supply and demand, and future outlook of the company can help us see the state and performance of Under Armour.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Under Armour is a rising sportswear brand that is known for the innovation and performance in their products. However, there are some obstacles preventing Under Armour from reaching their full potential. This proposal plan aims to address one of Under Armour’s main weaknesses. Under Armour is currently lacking in international sales, making up less than a tenth of their total revenue (Horovitz). In order for Under Armour to grow as a brand, they need to boost their global presence. A reason why Under Amour’s internationals sales are low is because of their lack of success in soccer-related sales. It will be important for Under Armour to be successful in soccer because it is a global sport played all across the world. My proposal for Under Armour is to endorse German-American soccer star Julian Green. He plays for Bayern Munich, Germany’s top club team and the US national team. Although, he is only 19 years old, he is extremely talented and has the potential to be a superstar in the sport. He could be a marketing asset for Under Armour, helping us drive up soccer-related sales both domestically and internationally.…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nike Swot Analysis Essay

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are several significant athletic and leisure footwear companies and sports equipment firms that produce similar products. Some of the primary ones are Puma and Adidas are some of the big competitors with Nike. Other large companies have diversified their product lines to include athletic and leisure apparel including Under Armour and lululemon. This type of quick change in technology and customer preferences can result in a risk for Nike. Demand for Nike’s products relies on what the norm in many sports and fitness related activites are, as well as the ever-changing trends, these generally control the financial results of Nike. If competitors have more success attracting customers with more appealing footwear or apparel, this would also hurt business…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nike Ethics Case Study

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The competitor gaining the most ground is Under Armour, though “Nike continues to have a more attractive valuation than Under Armour (Keulen, 2014).” Similar to Nike, the Under Armour Company is aggressively pursuing profitable sponsorship deals, giving them a rising portion of market revenue. Nike makes more than 10 times the revenue of Under Armour, but the brand frequently find themselves squabbling over endorsement deals and sponsorship (Goodkind, 2014). “Under Armour has also grabbed Adidas’ spot as the second-largest sporting brand in the United States with Nike being ranked number one (Goodkind, 2014).” But despite this new rank and a predicted revenue growth of 20% each of the next five years, Under Armour finds its total annual revenue to be the equivalent of Nike’s advertising budget (Goodkind,…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lululemon Research Paper

    • 3064 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Lastly, there are quite many players in the industry all competing for the few customers available. Large firms such as Nike and Adidas have intense competing relationship with each other over 20 years. The companies have expanded globally for emergences of internet marketing and e-commerce. Competition is fierce especially in footwear industry. They are using any marketing tools to dominate the market. Such as with strategic marketing, strong brand identity, aggressive sales, and very high capital expenditure.…

    • 3064 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kevin Plank Under Armour

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Under Armour is a progressive American sports clothing and accessories company that supplies sportswear and casual apparel. The founder of this sports brand is Kevin Plank who achieved success due to his creation. He designed a superior T-shirt that helps control your body temperature. This synthetic shirt was formed to prevent it from getting soggy, and to help enhance your performance.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Under Armour started by marketing products at lower prices pushing their merchandises for college youths. However in recent times, UA have been undergoing massive expansions and have undertaken new objectives to engage with top athletes from many different sporting leagues of the world to endorse their products. Due to their new business ventures, UA have widened their market positioning to the higher end of the scale as well…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kevin Plank Under Armour

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Background: Under Armour started out in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a football player and special teams captain at the University of Maryland. Plank hated constantly changed his sweat soaked clothes at the end of practices and set out to make a better solution.…

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The products offered by JD Sports range from a number of different established brands that give JD Sports a strong relationship with suppliers in terms of bargaining power. This is represented by the fact that JD stores supply a wide range of competitively priced sports and leisure clothing, footwear and accessories under a mix of brands (JD Annual Report and Accounts, 2014) Therefore using a wide range of suppliers makes it easy for JD to choose between the prices and products offered, making the bargaining power of suppliers low and the bargaining power of JD Sports much higher. This is also reflected by the fact that JD Sports also state they acquire brands and retailers in which JD themselves can further develop and therefore exploit in order to ensure that their overall product offers remain uniquely appealing to the customer but also to JD Sports (JD Annual Report and Accounts, 2014).…

    • 622 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Case Study Under Armour

    • 1816 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Under Armour was founded in 1996. The founder is Kevin Plank, a former football player who played for University of Maryland. At first, it started with a simple idea that making sports T-shirt more comfortable when players wear it. After 15 years, Under Armour became a big company who already spread their market into different country. In sporting goods market, Nike and Adidas are the two industry-leaders. Now Under Armour compared quite favorably with Nike and Adidas.…

    • 1816 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Puma Case Study

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pumas Response to the potential threats imposed by its competitors was to target untapped markets in the form of producing products that address people’s lifestyle. In doing so it positioned itself as an athletics company that produces high quality products with an edge, whether that edge is how trendy it is in terms of colors & design or how appropriate it is to a person’s lifestyle. And it emphasizes this by teaming up with designers, sports icons and trendy car manufacturers.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Assignment 3

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Under Armour was partaking in many different strategies to make its brand personally relevant, surprising, and easy to process. The most convenient avenue they found into doing this was starting with the University of Maryland, the founder’s college. This allowed the brand to relevant with all of the university. The next avenue the firm conducted was endorsements. This allowed for their products to be easy process and more familiar.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics