Under Armour has seen declining profits in recent years due to increased competition and falling sales. This report analyzes Under Armour's marketing strategy and recommends expanding their target market to include women and promoting their athleisure products more to increase frequency of wear. Expanding their campaigns to feature female athletes and everyday women in athleisure clothing can help inspire female consumers and increase their investment in the brand.

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A Market Analysis for
Under Armour Inc.
Marsha Smith
Full Sail University
Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing
June 28th, 2020

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This analysis report evaluates Under Armour Inc, an American company that
manufactures sports apparel, shoes and accessories, and their recent struggles with profit. This
report evaluates the marketing strategy of Under Armour and how this strategy impacts financial
success and consumer commitment. It will show how adjustments to this approach will help the
company see a positive increase in its business investments. At the end of this report, the
recommendations for the organization include shifting the target market segment to include
women rather than just focusing solely on college aged male athletes and adjusting marketing
efforts and to highlight athleisure products and encourage users to wear products more
frequently.

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OBJECTIVE
The primary purpose of this report is to help Under Armour improve their annual revenue
by adjusting their marketing approach and target market. By doing so, they will be able to
strengthen their connection with the current target audience and gain wider customer and brand
loyalty.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The information presented in this report was obtained primarily through secondary
research and a minor reference from a primary resource. Quantitative findings were externally
provided and include financial earnings and comparisons to competitors. These sources were
obtained within the last 30 days and reference the last fiscal quarter of 2019. Market segment
information was internally obtained and remains qualitative in nature. This resource is not dated
but was also obtained within the last 30 days. Missing information from this report includes
internal data from Under Armour that would detail the revenue obtained from athleisure apparel
and specific details on the number of female consumers investing in the brand.
RESEARCH AND KEY FINDINGS
The Under Armour brand is well known for producing sports apparel, footwear and
accessories. Founder Kevin Plank established the company with the desire to create clothing that
was effective with wicking away sweat from athletes and keeping them dry and fresh during and
after intense movement. The brand was initially marketed to college-aged football players. Under
Armour eventually expanded to include athletes from other sports and then more recently,
everyday persons.

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(Getty Images, Fool.com)
From a financial standpoint, Under Armour has seen a sharp monetary decline over the
past few years. Very early into 2020, Under Armour received financial projections that triggered
a 19% plunge in Under Armour Inc.'s shares (Freund, 2020.) Financial analysts have expressed
concern that the company will be unable to reach lowered revenue targets for this year. In 2019,
Under Armour had a net income of $92,139 million dollars with a net profit margin of .02%. The
Under Armour company started with a strong entrance in the performance apparel world when
the company was started in 1996. In recent years however, the company has suffered with
increased competition in the United states, falling domestic sales, and little growth in the last two
and a half years (Novy-Williams, 2019.) The company has also seen a decrease in market reach
and target market security due to poor marketing and analyst planning. “Under Armour expects a
mid- to high-single-digit percentage decline in the region in 2020. It posted a fourth-quarter loss
of $15.3 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $4.2 million, or 1 cent
a share” (Safdar, 2020.)

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Under Armour has been strongly associated with athletes and young adults between the
ages of 18 to 24 years old. The company also has official outfitter relationships with college
football programs in The Atlantic Coast Conference, The Big 12, The Western Athletic
Conference, The Southeastern Conference, and a number of American state universities.
Products are also sold to many Division I men’s and women’s collegiate athletic teams, and in
August 2006, Under Armour became an official supplier of footwear to the National Football
League (Investor Stats, n.d.) Within the last five years, Under Armour's brand perception among
America's youngest consumers has seen a steep decline, and the brand has been listed as the
number one brand that upper-income male teens said they are no longer wearing for the full year
(Green, 2017.) This will need to be an area of focus for Under Armour, in order to retain its
target audience of young adult athletes.
Getty Images, Grant Halverson
Under Armour has strong ties to college football programs as well as the NFL. The
company has also ventured into other sports across-seas such as Rugby in Germany. These
contracts provide Under Armour consistent earnings and the opportunity for Under Armour to

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strengthen its presence while under these binding agreements. According to data from
SportsCan, women’s apparel has outpaced men’s apparel in recent years. Regardless, Under
Armour is traditionally known as a primarily masculine retailer, and “the company still seems to
be falling behind competitors like Lululemon and Athleta, which many female consumers see as
being more fashionable” (Tyler, 2018.) The athleisure apparel trend also appears to be more
mainstream and continues to accelerate as “ U.S. sales of sport leisure footwear, including
athletic-inspired casual sneakers and skate shoes, rose 7% in the 12 months through August,…
[and] high heels and other fashion styles declined 5% (Cheng, 2019)
(Alex Kraus, 2017)

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CONCLUSIONS
When assessing the financial state of Under Armour, and the success of their marketing
strategy and target segment, it is clear that the organization needs to make adjustments in order
to stay financially successful and to remain a strong competitor alongside brands such as Nike,
Adidas, Reebok, and others. Under Armour has an extensive product collection providing
consumers a variety of options of apparel, footwear, and accessories to invest in. Competitors
such as Nike and Adidas have done a great job of incorporating a strong female presence within
their marketing. Using this observation, it is clear that Under Armour may have the opportunity
to widen its consumer market and potential appeal to female athletes.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the research and conclusions, Under Armour needs to expand its target market
segment to include women and athleisure products. Women appear to be the highest investors in
the Under Armour brand. Focusing on the ideal persona of this target group will help Under
Armour best assess how to create marketing campaigns that appeal and inspire consumers to
invest in the brand. While sportswear has been the primary focus for the Under Armour
company, including athleisure promotions will also prove beneficial and result increased wear as
consumers would be wearing Under Armour on and off “the field.” Under Armour should aim to
identify 5 female athletes to create campaigns for. Identifying relevant brand ambassadors will
greatly assist with inspiring female consumer loyalty. These campaigns should rotate and run for
seven months on commercials and social media. Simultaneously, stock images of women in
athleisure clothing should also be promoted on the same channel as the images of female athletes
will help female consumers feel inspired and images of everyday women in athleisure clothing
will help them better visualize themselves in the apparel. Under Armour will need to observe and

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measure the volume of female consumers obtained during this timeframe and record the profits
obtained during this time.
This is a strategic recommendation as it may not produce instant results. However, it will
re-establish Under Armour’s ability to engage consumers on a wider scale and result in higher
consumer loyalty. The analysis report process should be completed following the first cycles of
the campaigns, and the process should be repeated during the following year. This will help
Under Armour determine how successful the adjustments have been and help provide data to
guide projections for future earnings and consumer investment.

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REFERENCES
Freund, J. (2020, February 11). Under Armour Analysts Jolted by “Abysmal” 2020 Financial
Outlook. Retrieved June 14, 2020, from
http://search.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=141
685672&site=ehost-live.
Investor Stats. (n.d.). Retrieved June 07, 2020, from http://investor.underarmour.com/static-
files/849ba90f-4641-48ea-887f-9bc926151b16
Nike, Under Armour CEO Swaps Were 'Missed Opportunity' for Women. (2019, October 25).
Retrieved June 29, 2020, from https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/nike-
under-armour-ceo-swaps-were-missed-opportunity-for-women
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) Income Statement. (2020, June 27). Retrieved June 29, 2020, from
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/UA/financials/
Debter, L. (2016, January 11). Is Under Armour Losing Favor With Women? Retrieved June 29,
2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2016/01/11/under-armour-women-
sales/
Tyler, J. (2018, May 10). We shopped at Under Armour and saw why it's still struggling to win
over women. Retrieved June 29, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/under-
armour-women-apparel-falls-short-2018-5
Safdar, K. (2020, February 11). Under Armour Says Sales Will Fall in 2020. Retrieved June 29,
2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/under-armour-says-sales-will-fall-in-2020-
11581424518
Freund, J. (2020, February 11). Under Armour Analysts Jolted by 'Abysmal' 2020 Financial
Outlook. Retrieved June 29, 2020, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-
02-11/under-armour-analysts-jolted-by-abysmal-2020-financial-outlook
[Athlete Sneaker Picture]. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2020, from
https://www.bcinterruption.com/boston_college_athletics/2015/3/12/8200233/boston-
college-under-armour-extend-long-term-partnership
[Sneaker Shopping Picture]. (n.d.) Retrieved June 29, 2020, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/09/26/more-signs-the-athleisure-trend-
isnt-slowing-any-time-soon/
[Under Armour Store Picture]. (n.d.) Retrieved June 29, 2020, from
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/04/19/under-armour-still-isnt-cool.aspx