PROPOSAL

Name of Company: Under Armour

Name of Business Unit (if relevant):

Region: North America

ISIN number: ISIN US9043111072

Module N1079

Student number: 262136

Date: 20/02/2025

Total word count (excluding references list): 529

1
 1.​ Target Organization
Under Armour is a US-based sportswear and footwear company listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE: UAA)1. The company primarily operates in the North American region and within
the global sportswear market. Its business model revolves around innovative performance apparel
meant to enhance athletes' performance. Under Armour has a direct-to-consumer (DTC) focus (online
and physical stores)2 and wholesale to larger retailers3.

Figure 1: Market Share of Sports Companies in North America and table of turnover of each
brand measured in millions of US dollars ($), 2018-2024.4

1
Under Armour (2025) Stock Information. Available at: https://about.underarmour.com/en-us/investors/stock-information.html
2
Anderson. G. (2023) How Under Armour Can Overcome Its Margin Hurdles. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2023/05/18/how-under-armour-can-overcome-its-margin-hurdles/
3
Under Armour Inc - GlobalData Company Profiles - Events, (January 3, 2025), available at
https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:5TC6-B841-F10D-00VD-00000-00&context=1
519360.
4
Figure 1 derived from:
Davies, K. (2025, January 14). Under Armour's net revenue in the United States from 2015 to 2024. Statista. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/815677/us-net-sales-of-under-armour/
Davies, K. (2025, January 14). U.S. revenue of Nike from 1988 to 2024. Statista. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/888676/nikes-revenue-in-the-us/#:~:text=In%20the%20financial%20year%20ended,turnover%20in%20th
e%20United%20States
Davies, K. (2025, January 14). Adidas and Reebok net sales in North America from 2016 to 2020. Statista. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/820487/adidas-reebok-net-sales-north-america/
Adidas (2019) Annual Report. Available at:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://report.adidas-group.com/2019/en/servicepages/downloads/files/adidas_annua
l_report_2019.pdf
Adidas (2021) Annual Report. Available at:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://report.adidas-group.com/2021/en/servicepages/downloads/files/annual-report
-adidas-ar21.pdf
Adidas (2024) Annual Report. Available at:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://res.cloudinary.com/confirmed-web/image/upload/v1730182962/adidas-group
/investors/financial-publications/2024/Q3/adidasAG_Q3_2024_Results_EN_final_aqkvyz.pdf
https://annual-report.puma.com/2020/en/combined-management-report/regional-development.html
https://about.underarmour.com/en-us/stories/2021/02/under-armour-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2020-results--.html
(January 3, 2025). Under Armour Inc - GlobalData Company Profiles - Swot Analysis.
https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:52CX-NCC1-JDHB-80RJ-00000-00&context=
1519360.
"Under Armour Inc - GlobalData Company Profiles - Swot Analysis." January 3, 2025,
advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:52CX-NCC1-JDHB-80RJ-00000-00&context=151936
0. Accessed February 18, 2025.

2
As competition comes into play, the market share of Under Armour (Figure 1) has drastically been
reduced from 13.8% in 2018 to 10.2% in the year 2024. Increased competition from the likes of Nike
(with a 60.9% market share in 2018) and Adidas has been a substantial reason behind this.
Post-COVID-19, Under Armour has stagnated, as it finds it hard to sustain growth. Its main
competitors – Nike and Adidas, keep thriving with respect to their market share and brand awareness.

2.​ Challenges faced by the target organisation

For a while now, Under Armour has been unable to stand its ground in a competitive sportswear
environment, with its loss of market share attributed to several important challenges.

1. Competition from Bigger Brands

The likes of Nike and Adidas have been the lords and masters of the sportswear scene for some time
now, and Under Armour has been another David trying to fight them with huge marketing budgets,
global recognition, and retail presence. Although Under Armour was able to establish a foothold with

3
performance-based gear (see Figure 1), it has been less successful in breaking into the audience-luring
kind of lifestyle and sneakers that keep Nike and Adidas raking in the dough5.

2. Brand Identity Confusion

Under Armour never quite understood its placement. It did well at performance apparel early in the
game, but it could never transition into a lifestyle brand that people wanted; in short, its appeal was
limited to mass consumers6.

3. Inventory and Financial Issues

Under Armour has, in recent years, been in financial difficulty due to slow growth in revenue and
challenges regarding profitability. Also, inefficient inventory management has been another challenge;
at times, the company was sitting on a surplus of stock and had to heavily discount products, hurting
the brand in the eyes of consumers. Supply chain issues coupled with skyrocketing costs have made it
even worse on its pockets7.

4. Struggles in its home market

Under Armour is still very much reliant on North America, where sales have declined, amid attempts
of global expansion. It has not offered enough competitive differentiators, and its international
getaways have not compensated for such difficulties yet8.

3.​ Plan for developing Business Strategy Report

For the Business Strategy Report, I am going to focus on market trends, competition, and financial
performance for Under Armour and its competitors. The sources include Statista for revenue figures,
company reports, and financial articles from Bloomberg, Forbes and Nexis. I will apply analytical
tools such as SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces to highlight each company in terms of market
position and competition. The timeline presented in the Gantt chart indicates important activities such
as the collection of data, analysis, drafting, and revisions, organized by the weeks prior to the due date
of the paper, thereby ensuring systematic completion of the assignment.

5
Swartz, D. (2025, February 12). Under Armour lacks a competitive advantage, but association with global athletics provides a base.
Morningstar. Retrieved from
https://www.morningstar.com/company-reports/1264058-under-armour-lacks-a-competitive-advantage-but-association-with-global-athletics-
provides-a-base
6
Mohammed, S. (2025, January 23). Protection Money: How “Under Armour” Built — and Broke — Its House. Medium. Retrieved from
https://shahmm.medium.com/protection-money-how-under-armour-built-and-broke-its-house-5d5c22ff465a
7
Unglesbee, B. (2023, August 22). Under Armour inventory up 38% as stock struggles roll on. Supply Chain Dive. Retrieved from
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/under-armour-inventory-magins-Q1/691267/
8
Oliveira, M. (2021). The strategic challenges of Under Armour in 2021 with an analysis of the firm in the sports footwear market. NOVA
University of Lisbon. Retrieved from
https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/139942/1/the-strategic-challenges-of-under-armour-in-2021-with-an-analysis-of-the-firm-in-the-sports-foo
twear-market---mariana-oliveira.pdf

4
References
1.​ Under Armour (2025) Stock Information. Available at:
https://about.underarmour.com/en-us/investors/stock-information.html
2.​ Anderson. G. (2023) How Under Armour Can Overcome Its Margin Hurdles. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2023/05/18/how-under-armour-can-overcome-its-mar
gin-hurdles/
3.​ Under Armour Inc - GlobalData Company Profiles - Events, (January 3, 2025), available at
https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:5
TC6-B841-F10D-00VD-00000-00&context=1519360.
4.​ Figure 1 derived from:
Davies, K. (2025, January 14). Under Armour's net revenue in the United States from 2015 to
2024. Statista. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/815677/us-net-sales-of-under-armour/
Davies, K. (2025, January 14). U.S. revenue of Nike from 1988 to 2024. Statista. Retrieved
from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/888676/nikes-revenue-in-the-us/#:~:text=In%20the%20fin
ancial%20year%20ended,turnover%20in%20the%20United%20States
Davies, K. (2025, January 14). Adidas and Reebok net sales in North America from 2016 to
2020. Statista. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/820487/adidas-reebok-net-sales-north-america/
Adidas (2019) Annual Report. Available at:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://report.adidas-group.com/2019/
en/servicepages/downloads/files/adidas_annual_report_2019.pdf
Adidas (2021) Annual Report. Available at:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://report.adidas-group.com/2021/
en/servicepages/downloads/files/annual-report-adidas-ar21.pdf
Adidas (2024) Annual Report. Available at:

5
 chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://res.cloudinary.com/confirmed-
web/image/upload/v1730182962/adidas-group/investors/financial-publications/2024/Q3/adida
sAG_Q3_2024_Results_EN_final_aqkvyz.pdf
https://annual-report.puma.com/2020/en/combined-management-report/regional-development
.html
https://about.underarmour.com/en-us/stories/2021/02/under-armour-reports-fourth-quarter-and
-full-year-2020-results--.html
(January 3, 2025). Under Armour Inc - GlobalData Company Profiles - Swot Analysis.
https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:5
2CX-NCC1-JDHB-80RJ-00000-00&context=1519360.
"Under Armour Inc - GlobalData Company Profiles - Swot Analysis." January 3, 2025,
advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:52CX-
NCC1-JDHB-80RJ-00000-00&context=1519360. Accessed February 18, 2025.
5.​ Swartz, D. (2025, February 12). Under Armour lacks a competitive advantage, but
association with global athletics provides a base. Morningstar. Retrieved from
https://www.morningstar.com/company-reports/1264058-under-armour-lacks-a-competitive-a
dvantage-but-association-with-global-athletics-provides-a-base
6.​ Mohammed, S. (2025, January 23). Protection Money: How “Under Armour” Built — and
Broke — Its House. Medium. Retrieved from
https://shahmm.medium.com/protection-money-how-under-armour-built-and-broke-its-house-
5d5c22ff465a
7.​ Unglesbee, B. (2023, August 22). Under Armour inventory up 38% as stock struggles roll on.
Supply Chain Dive. Retrieved from
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/under-armour-inventory-magins-Q1/691267/
8.​ Oliveira, M. (2021). The strategic challenges of Under Armour in 2021 with an analysis of
the firm in the sports footwear market. NOVA University of Lisbon. Retrieved from
https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/139942/1/the-strategic-challenges-of-under-armour-in-2021
-with-an-analysis-of-the-firm-in-the-sports-footwear-market---mariana-oliveira.pdf