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, Balls, Accesories
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]

History

The company was founded on January 26, 1996 by Kevin Plank, a former University of Maryland special teams captain for the university football team. Plank and co-founder Jordan Lindgren, also a former University of Maryland Football player, began their business from Plank's grandmother's basement in Washington, DC.

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. This was the inspiration to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking fabric for athletic performance.^[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 Georgia Tech opened the door to a contract with N.C. 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 9 years after starting the company, Plank finally put himself on the payroll.

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 opened several other stores in 2008. 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.

Sponsorships

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

American Football

Miles Austin Anquan Boldin Tom Brady Brian Cushing

Vernon Davis Ray Lewis Rey Maualuga Cam Newton

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Julio Jones Santana Moss Torrey Smith

Baseball

José Reyes Bryce Harper Buster Posey

Matt Wieters Clayton Kershaw

Basketball

Brandon Jennings Greivis Vasquez Kemba Walker

Derrick Williams Maccabi Rishon LeZion

Football

Once Caldas Tottenham Hotspur (from 2012-13) [7] Bobby Zamora

Michael Dawson Paul Robinson Aris Thessaloniki

Maccabi Tel Aviv Toluca Estudiantes Tecos

Bob Erlich

Golf

• Hunter Mahan
• Tommy Gainey
• Gary Woodland
• Josh Short

Gymnastics

• Alicia Sacramone

Ice Hockey

• Rick Nash
• Tyler Seguin

Martial Arts

• Georges St-Pierre

Rugby Union

• ASM Clermont Auvergne
• Wales national team

Swimming

• Michael Phelps

Colleges

Calgary Dinos Western Ontario Mustangs Kean University Auburn Tigers Boston College Eagles Eastern University Eagles Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs Hawaii Warriors Maryland Terrapins+ McNeese State Cowboys Template:Flagicon USA Wagner University Minot State Beavers North Texas Mean Green South Carolina Gamecocks South Florida Bulls Southern Illinois Salukis Temple Owls Texas Tech Red Raiders

Toledo Rockets Towson Tigers Truman State Bulldogs Utah Utes Delaware Blue Hens Whittier College Youngstown State Penguins

(+) Maryland is Under Armour's flagship athletic program.^[8]

High Schools

Dickinson High School Lake Travis High School Elder High School Broadneck 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 Mullen High School Natrona County High School New Bern High School Oaks Christian High School Opelika High School Manatee High School Moeller High School

Rosary 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

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.^[9]

Awards

• 2008 Billie Award in Breakthrough and Innovation for Boom Boom Tap ^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Under Armour (UA) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest
2. ^ ^{a b} Under Armour (UA) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest
3. ^ Barnett, Gigi (2008-05-04). "New Under Armour Product Revealed". WJZ 13 Baltimore. http://wjz.com/local/under.armour.2.715301.html. 
4. ^ 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. 
5. ^ "2008 Annual Report (page 2)". Under Armour. February 20, 2009. http://investor.underarmour.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-09-33942. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
6. ^ Salter, Chuck (2007-12-09). "Protect This House". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/97/under-armour.html. Retrieved 2009-10-29. 
7. ^ Spurs announce £50million kit deal, 2010-03-09
8. ^ "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/. 
9. ^ "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. 
10. ^ "Women's Sports Foundation Hosted The Billies, Recognizing Media Excellence in Women's Sports and Physical Activity". prnewswire.com. 2008-04-16. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-16-2008/0004794480&EDATE=. Retrieved 2008-04-16.