Sporting retailer Under Armour added a little bit of insult to injury to its competitors last week, a day after the quickly growing sporting brand went on a bit of a shopping spree. Under Armour’s 2014 fourth quarter exceeded 2013’s figures by 31 percent, marking 19 consecutive quarters of 20 percent growth or more. The company, founded in 1996, has had to compete with giants such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and New Balance.
As of late, Under Armour’s revenue, international and domestic, has exceeded Wall Street expectations and the company’s own expectations. With endorsements from athletes such as Stephen Curry, and Bryce Harper, to Lyndsey Vonn and Michael Phelps, Under Armour has solidified its place amongst the premier names in sports.
Under Armour has no intentions of slowing the avalanche of momentum it has been riding on either.
On Wednesday, it announced the purchases of American-based fitness app MyFitnessPal and European fitness app Endomando. The latter allows users to track their fitness progression through social media, while MyFitnessPal maintains calorie-counting and fitness-tracking capabilities. The deals will collectively cost Under Armour over half a billion dollars, but will expand their digital health usership to over 120 million people. Under Armour’s international recognition and sales could truly benefit from the Endomando deal. Under Armour is beginning to incorporate unconventional tactics to thwart its competitors, while also firing verbal shots at them in the process.
Bloomberg Television sat down with Under Armour ‘s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Plank, Thursday to chat with him about his company’s latest business ventures.
In response to Adidas’ claim that it could potentially “sign between 5 and 500 athletes,” Plank barbed: “Spending more money is no strategy, right? And we’re not going to compete with our dumbest competitor either. They will chase the old model…”
Plank went on to express his disdain for not only Adidas, but all of his competitors. It’s evident that Under Armour believes the key to its continued growth and success is not by trying to beat the House at its own game, but by reshuffling the deck and making their own rules.
Instead of relying solely upon high profile athletes to build its market, Under Armour will use its newly attained health apps to directly reach consumers. The coming months will reveal just how effective their course of action proves to be.
Regardless though, Under Armour is a dark horse eying the front of the pack.