Under Armour

Under Armour

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, you know what we got
Revenue	US$856 million (FY 2009)
Operating income	US$85.3 million (FY 2009)
Net income	US$46.8 million (FY 2009)
Total assets	US$546 million (FY 2009)
Total equity	US$400 million (FY 2009)
Employees	2200 (2008)
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 mainly focusing on hi-tech sportswear for professional athletes. Under Armour began offering footwear in 2006.

History

The company was founded in 1996 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. Major competing brands including Nike, Adidas and Reebok soon followed in Plank's footsteps with their own version of Under Armour's moisture-wicking apparel.

By the end of 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]}

Headquarters

Under Armour's global headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Its European headquarters is located in Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium; additional offices are located in Denver, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Guangzhou.

Retail operations

An Under Armour hat

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.

Sponsorships

Teams and athletes that currently wear uniforms manufactured by Under Armour are:

American Football

Miles Austin Anquan Boldin Tom Brady Ray Lewis

Rey Maualuga Cam Newton Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Julio Jones

Santana Moss Torrey Smith Brian Cushing Jason Pierre-Paul

Baseball

José Reyes Andy Montano Buster Posey

Matt Wieters Clayton Kershaw Bryce Harper

Basketball

Maccabi Rishon LeZion Brandon Jennings DeAndre Jordan Jon Brockman Marquis Daniels

Greivis Vasquez Kemba Walker Derrick Williams

Bobsleigh

• United States National Bobsledding Team

Football

Tottenham Hotspur (from 2012-17) Bobby Zamora Michael Dawson Paul Robinson

Aris Thessaloniki Maccabi Tel Aviv Omiya Ardija

Toluca SuperSport United

Golf

Hunter Mahan Tommy Gainey

Gary Woodland Josh Short

Gymnastics

• Alicia Sacramone

Ice Hockey

Henrik Zetterberg Rick Nash Tyler Seguin Mike Fisher

Carey Price Justin Abdelkader Matt Cecil

Mixed Martial Arts

• Georges St-Pierre

Rugby Union

• ASM Clermont Auvergne
• Wales national team

Swimming

• Michael Phelps

Colleges

Calgary Dinos Western Ontario Mustangs Auburn Tigers Boston College Eagles Delaware Blue Hens Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs Hawaii Warriors Kean University La Salle Explorers

Maryland Terrapins(*) McNeese State Cowboys Nichols College Minot State Beavers Northwestern Wildcats South Carolina Gamecocks South Florida Bulls Southern Illinois Salukis Temple Owls

Texas Tech Red Raiders Toledo Rockets Towson Tigers Truman State Bulldogs UNC Greensboro Spartans Utah Utes Wagner College Whittier College Youngstown State Penguins

^(*) Under Armour's flagship athletic program.

High Schools

Foley High School Dickinson High School De Smet High School Lake Travis High School Elder High School Broadneck High School DH Conley High School Saguaro High School Lake Region High School Bergen Catholic High School East Grand Rapids High School Goose Creek High School Hoover High School Irmo High School

Lakewood High School Kenton High School Mount Saint Joseph High School Mullen High School Natrona County High School New Bern High School Oaks Christian High School Opelika High School Manatee High School Mentor High School Mustang High School Moeller High School

Cardinal O'Hara High School Rosary High School Riverbend High School Shenendehowa High School Southlake Carroll St. John's College High School Summerville High School Tonawanda High School . Seminole High School Eden Prairie High School Monticello High School Victory Christian School Greenwood High School Walker High School

Non-sports

• Mestre Barrão
• Ryder Ripps

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.

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.

Awards

• 2008 Billie Award in Breakthrough and Innovation.

External links

• “5 Fitness Brands Kicking Butt on Social Media” – Mashable – 1/6/2012
• “Turtle Power? Maryland's Unique Under Armour Uniforms Draw Nation's Attention” – SportsBusiness Daily - 9/7/2011
• “Interview: Under Armour's Dave Dombrow On EVOnatomy And The All-New Charge RC Runner” – Complex – 8/10/2011
• “Under Armour Applies Its Muscle to Shoes” – The New York Times – 8/8/2011
• “In-Chest Sensors Gather Data on NFL Prospects” – WIRED – 2/23/2011
• “Under Armour CEO on Earnings, Growth Plans” – CNBC – 1/27/2011
• “In An About-Face, Under Armour Will Introduce Cotton Apparel” – Forbes – 1/26/2011
• “Under Armour scores big with Auburn's BCS title” – USA Today – 1/12/2011
• “Under Armour signs quarterback Tom Brady to endorsement deal” – The Baltimore Sun – 11/8/2010
• “Under Armour Wants to Dress Athletic Young Women” – The New York Times – 8/31/2010
• “The Uniform All the Athletes are Wearing” – ABC News Nightline – 7/14/2010
• “Brandon Jennings Signs With Under Armour” – CNBC – 9/23/2008
• “Protect This House” – Fast Company – 8/1/2005