Companies

Under Armour unveils four-pillar growth strategy

Dec 18, 2024 United States

The Baltimore-based company has outlined a four-pillar growth strategy focused on product, story, service and team to realise its long term potential. The outlook for the current fiscal year remains unchanged

“Today, we reviewed our plans to enhance and fortify the Under Armour brand, highlighting our seasoned leadership team’s commitment to ensuring consistent execution with improved alignment, clarity, and confidence about our future direction”, said Under Armour President and CEO Kevin Plank during an investor meeting in New York City, where the company unveiled a growth strategy focused on four key elements – Product, Story, Service and Team.

In terms of product, Under Armour plans to streamline its assortment to deliver a simplified and more focused presentation, focus on innovation to drive performance and enhance its design language, and ensure an aligned category-centric go-to-market process to facilitate a holistic connection between athlete needs and global and regional commercial strategies.

From a storytelling perspective, the brand intends to leverage its “underdog positioning, infused with resilience and grit” and launch more significant and impactful activations to drive brand awareness. Concerning the team, Under Armour will leverage its experienced leaders and teammates to execute strategies with greater alignment, efficiency and effectiveness.

The service pillar includes market-specific commercial strategies in each region. In the Americas, where Under Armour has struggled the most, the aim is to “reset and strengthen” the brand through disciplined marketplace management and segmentation strategies and by driving a more premium representation of the brand.

On the contrary, in the EMEA, the company plans to build on its success in the UK to expand into other countries, including France, Germany and Spain, and in the APAC region, the focus will be on navigating a challenging and dynamic near-term environment.

“With a significantly strengthened product lineup coming in Fall 2025, a clear underdog brand positioning, and purposeful, disciplined marketplace management, I am confident that our actions are gaining traction. We are running a more agile and focused company, and our strategies are fostering renewed brand strength, which we believe will ultimately improve our ability to drive sustainable, profitable growth for our shareholders”, concluded Plank.

However, the company’s fiscal 2025 outlook remains unchanged. Under Armour expects its revenue to decline at a low double-digit rate, driven by a 14-16% decline in North America. Operating loss is expected to be between 176 million and 196 million US dollars, but adjusted operating income could be between 165 million and 185 million US dollars, reflecting stronger-than-expected profitability.

Image Credits: about.underarmour.com

United States Companies Management Results Sportswear Strategy Under Armour