Under Armour Case Study
Under Armour Case Study
The Early years of Under Armour Under Armour was found in 1996 by fullback Kevin Plank. As a fullback at the University of Maryland, he got tired of having to change out of the sweaty T-shirts he wore under his jersey but then, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This encouraged him to make a T-shirt using this fabric. After graduating from the University of Maryland, Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. Plank then perfected the design creating a new T-shirt made from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept athletes cool, dry, and light. By the end of 1996, Under Armour had sold 500 Under Armour shirts, making $17,000. In 1997, Plank had $100,000 in orders to fill and found a factory in Ohio to make the shirts. People began to notice the brand when a front page photo of USA Today featured Oakland Raiders quarterback Jeff George wearing an Under Armour mock turtleneck. Following that front page, Under Armour's first major sale came from Georgia Tech they asked Plank for 10 shirts. This deal with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets opened the door to a contract with Arizona State University, North Carolina State and other Division I football teams. With positive reviews from players, word began to spread and orders began to increase.
Under Armour's growth Under Armour received its first big break in 1999 when Warner Brothers contacted Under Armour to outfit its two upcoming films, Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday and The Replacements. In the film Any Given Sunday, Willie Beamen, wears an Under Armour jockstrap. The movie generated close to $750,000 in sales, and nine years after starting the company, Plank put himself
The Early years of Under Armour Under Armour was found in 1996 by fullback Kevin Plank. As a fullback at the University of Maryland, he got tired of having to change out of the sweaty T-shirts he wore under his jersey but then, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This encouraged him to make a T-shirt using this fabric. After graduating from the University of Maryland, Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. Plank then perfected the design creating a new T-shirt made from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept athletes cool, dry, and light. By the end of 1996, Under Armour had sold 500 Under Armour shirts, making $17,000. In 1997, Plank had $100,000 in orders to fill and found a factory in Ohio to make the shirts. People began to notice the brand when a front page photo of USA Today featured Oakland Raiders quarterback Jeff George wearing an Under Armour mock turtleneck. Following that front page, Under Armour's first major sale came from Georgia Tech they asked Plank for 10 shirts. This deal with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets opened the door to a contract with Arizona State University, North Carolina State and other Division I football teams. With positive reviews from players, word began to spread and orders began to increase.
Under Armour's growth Under Armour received its first big break in 1999 when Warner Brothers contacted Under Armour to outfit its two upcoming films, Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday and The Replacements. In the film Any Given Sunday, Willie Beamen, wears an Under Armour jockstrap. The movie generated close to $750,000 in sales, and nine years after starting the company, Plank put himself