Not every business is great or stands out among a crowd of business analysts and commerce moguls. However, sometimes the exceptional will exterior with new innovation and promises to change the approved by which all is presently compared. Most people can name a few if they think about it but in the case of Under Armour Apparel, they have been a silent success. Under Armour has put their mark on the operation Apparel commerce over the last ten years and they have not only increased the standards for their direct competitors but they are constantly raising the bar for its customers. Presently, SportsScan Info's Schwartz has stated that Under Armour is close to the fourth largest retailer of sporting motion in the United States just behind Nike, Adidas and Columbia.
The Here and Now
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Headquartered Baltimore, Maryland; Under Armour is a growing force and fierce competitor in the operation apparel industry. They have offices all over the world along with Denver, Toronto, Hong Kong and London England.
Under Armour develops its operation apparel for men, women and youth with product lines that impact all levels of activity from daily to ultimate sport activity exterior all climates and conditions. This diversity has allowed them to impact virtually every market. Presently they have five lines.
Coldgear
Loosegear
Turfgear
Allseasonsgear
Heatgear
In the starting there was Innovation
Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a football player for Maryland. The basic thought created by Plank started as a simple t-shirt made using high tech fabrics. The high tech fabric that he chose had qualities that could wick sweat and other moisture straight through the fabric to the exterior instead of bright it. He believed that if athletes could be dry and the moisture wicking potential could help regulate temperature they would accomplish better. That was his concept. He started the business using ,000 of his own money, ,000 from prestige and a 0,000 Small business Loan.
Starting Small - Using your Consumers to Fuel your Success
On November 18, 1995 after Plank had created the first prototype he set up shop in his grandmother's basement in Washington, Dc. His first sale was to Georgia Tech University where interest prolonged to grow. Shortly after, he was supplying operation apparel to more agency one football teams and over two dozen National Football Teams. His formula for marketing and retaining clients was simple because he believed that if you generate product for the people who will appreciate it most, then it will sell. Plank prolonged to shop his products with this thought and further success came quickly.
By 1996, after its first year of success Under Armour developed five product lines that were all derived from the same Microfiber. The main advantages to this fabric were its potential to:
Wick moisture away from the skin holding people dry sell out sweat and regulates body temperature due to breathability It was light weight and comfortable
Realizing that all of these benefits applied to a collection of consumers he created five product lines targeting a range of activity levels from daily to the extreme. It proved to be a smart decision for Plank to broaden his marketing efforts because he was so prosperous that he had to move to a larger premise in South Baltimore and put Under Armour on the map for good.
Opportunities to Last a Lifetime
In 1998 Under Armour became the legal victualer of operation apparel to the National Football League Europe and in 1999 Warner Bros. Signed on as a client as well. Under Armour apparel supplied clothing for the movie "Any Given Sunday" and "The Replacements". It was becoming apparent that Under Armour was no longer just connected with sports but all forms of activity.
2000 was the year that Under Armour became a permanent fixture worldwide. They had 8000 legal sell locations all over the world and they were continuing to grow to impressive new heights including:
Major league lacrosse Major league Soccer National Hockey League Usa Baseball Us Ski Team
Between 2000 and 2005 Under Armour was supplying over 100 agency 1A football programs and thirty Nfl football teams. Each year they were featured in the superbowl in one form or another. Numerous articles and case studies were written with the best being Time magazines feature that titled Under Armour as the one of the fastest growing underground companies. Plank was also named businessperson of the year by the Baltimore business Journal in 1993.
Current Events
Presently, 2005 is proving to be other exceptionally innovative year starting with 60 products for a new women's line called Ua Metal that was inspired by their 'Duplicity Sportsbra". And if that is not enough, they have introduced the Ua Tech line, a more technical savvy and developed version of their primary line Loosegear. To reach further into the marketplace they are now targeting personel sports starting with running. They are introducing Ua Streaker a line developed with technical advancements for runners.
The operation apparel commerce is now a multi billion dollar business. This commerce is consistently entering new markets along with daily wear and even business suit apparel. It is incorporating the operation materials to make the daily more comfortable.
Creating Something Different
The query on many minds along with that of direct competitors is how big will they grow? In the same understated way Kevin Plank began he still remains realistic yet optimistic. With 546 Under Armour employees and top competitors like Nike and Adidas, he has practically 75% of the shop share; they are surely on the right track. The plan for the future is to target the women's shop with a more broad approach.
It is predicted that Under Armour will gross an estimated 0 to 0 million this year, so many business analysts are speculating what the next big move will be. As a conspiratorially held company, many believe that Under Armour will be acquired by one of their larger competitors. On the other hand, a business only needs to gross 0 million to be eligible to go social and attract the approved investors and they are practically there.
Under Armour apparel has been a business that has flown under the radar to become the prominent success story in the textile commerce for operation apparel. Each milestone and creative achievement is a testament to the true meaning of designing what the buyer demands. It is impossible to predict what the future will hold for this marvelous business but is safe to say that what they have achieved is a spot on the red floor covering of commerce beside the big players.
The History of Under Armour - A Mastermind for doing Apparel
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