Under Armour
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: UA |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Kevin Plank (Founder/CEO) |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, sporting equipment, accessories |
| Revenue |  US$856 million (FY 2009)[1] |
| Operating income | US$85.3 million (FY 2009)[1] |
| Net income | US$46.8 million (FY 2009)[1] |
| Total assets | US$546 million (FY 2009)[2] |
| Total equity | US$400 million (FY 2009)[2] |
| Employees | 2200 (2008)[3] |
| Website | www.underarmour.com |
Under Armour is an American sports clothing and accessories company. The company is a supplier of a wide range of sportswear and casual apparel[4] mainly focusing on hi-tech sportswear for professional athletes. Under Armour began offering footwear in 2006.[5]
Contents |
[edit] History
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011) |
The company was founded on November 1995 by Kevin Plank, a 23-year old former University of Maryland special teams captain for the university football team. Plank began the business from his grandmother's basement in Washington, D.C.
Plank, who got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts he wore under his jersey, noticed that his compression shorts stayed dry, which inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking fabric for athletic performance, following in the footsteps of Nike's "Dri-Fit".[6]
By 1996, Under Armour had generated $17,000 in revenue purely by word of mouth. In 1997, Plank had $100,000 in orders to fill and found a factory in Ohio to make the shirts. People began to take notice of 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 when an equipment manager from Georgia Tech asked Plank for 10 shirts. The deal with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets opened the door to a contract with North Carolina State. With positive reviews from players, word began to spread and orders began to increase. Under Armour first made a profit in 1998 and received its first big break in the 1999 Oliver Stone movie Any Given Sunday, in which Willie Beamen, played by Jamie Foxx, wore an Under Armour jockstrap. Plank sent samples of his products to the costume designer. Leveraging the release of Any Given Sunday, Plank purchased an ad in ESPN The Magazine. The ad generated close to $750,000 in sales, and nine years after starting the company, Plank finally put himself on the payroll.[citation needed]
[edit] Headquarters
Under Armour's global headquarters is located in Freetown, Massachusetts. Its European headquarters is located in Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium; additional offices are located in Denver, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Guangzhou.
[edit] Retail operations
In late 2007, Under Armour opened its first retail location, at the Westfield Annapolis mall in Annapolis, Maryland. In May 2008, Under Armour also opened a larger 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) store at Westfield Fox Valley in Aurora, Illinois. Under Armour has since opened several specialty stores and factory outlet locations in 34 states. Under Armour recently opened their first store outside of North America. This is located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is run and owned by First XV, the rugby store situated next door. In 2012, Under Armour is planning to build a 25,000-square-foot retail store at its Tide Point headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.
[edit] Sponsorships
Teams and athletes that currently wear uniforms manufactured by Under Armour are:
[edit] American Football
[edit] Baseball
[edit] Basketball
[edit] Bobsleigh
United States National Bobsledding Team
[edit] Football
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[edit] Golf
[edit] Gymnastics
[edit] Ice Hockey
[edit] Martial Arts
[edit] Rugby Union
[edit] Swimming
[edit] Colleges
- (*) Under Armour's flagship athletic program.[8]
[edit] High Schools
[edit] Non-sports
[edit] Miscellaneous
On April 22, 2009, baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. formed an alliance under which the performance apparel, footwear, and equipment company would have significant presence at several venues and events under the auspices of Ripken Baseball, including providing uniforms for the minor league Aberdeen IronBirds and youth teams participating in the Cal Ripken World Series this summer.
[edit] Product recalls
On April 29, 2009, the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of all Under Armour brand athletic cups. The cups, which were manufactured in China, may break when hit, posing a risk of serious injury. They were sold from January 2006 through March 2009.[9]
[edit] Awards
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Under Armour (UA) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest
- ^ a b Under Armour (UA) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest
- ^ Barnett, Gigi (2008-05-04). "New Under Armour Product Revealed". WJZ 13 Baltimore. http://wjz.com/local/under.armour.2.715301.html.
- ^ Terry, Robert J. (2005-09-23). "Baltimore Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/09/26/story6.html. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "2008 Annual Report (page 2)". Under Armour. February 20, 2009. http://investor.underarmour.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-09-33942. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ Salter, Chuck (2007-12-09). "Protect This House". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/97/under-armour.html. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ Spurs announce £50million kit deal, 2010-03-09
- ^ "New Under Armour Maryland Boston college basketball uniforms". Dime Mag. October 2010. http://dimemag.com/2010/10/new-under-armour-maryland-boston-college-basketball-uniforms/.
- ^ "Under Armour Recalls Athletic Cups Due To Injury Hazard". Under Armour. 2009-04-29. http://www.underarmour.com/productsafety/pdf/AboutTheRecall_US.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
