How Did UA Become A New Sport Fitness Circle?

Asked a circle of fitness friends, why not go to the gym now?

and

The answer is highly consistent: "who wants to be so unprofessional" and a white eye.

Turning over the speed and passion 5 of the stills and starring Dwayne Johnson's life photos, you will find that this astounding little saucer T-shirt wears its upper body and distinguishes itself from Adidas, Nike and other old sportswear brands with its fascinated material and very stature.

Looking at UA's past share price chart, we may be surprised that in the past five years

The stock price rose from single digit to three digit number. How did this amazing increase come from? It's not just us, it's also a question that Adidas and Nike want to ask.

Next, let's take a look at how UA has reached the top third sports brands in the world in the past ten years and become a new sport fitness circle.

One, NIKE has to face up to the new opponent.

Armour means armor and war armor. Under Armour, as the name suggests, is the best choice under the armor.

In 1996, former American football captain Kevin Plank discovered that the cotton T-shirt under the protective clothing was extremely uncomfortable after being penetrated by sweat. He believed that there must be a better choice, so he successfully developed the world's first functional T-shirt. The final choice of the polyester material can be breathable, fast drying, and assist in muscle strength. At the same time, it can be compressed into a very small volume and easy to carry. It can keep the athletes relaxed and light in vigorous exercise. Even if it is soaked by sweat, it can quickly dry in a very short time, and the silk will not affect the state of the athletes in the competition. "Plank"

At that time, he did not know that this tight speed dry T-shirt will change the sports world from now on.

Kevin Plank first persuaded two college football teams in the hot climates to buy his equipment: Georgia Tech (in the humid Atlanta) and Arizona (in the Phoenix area near the desert).

After trying out the first batch of samples to several university football teams, Plank's fast drying business quickly spread to the top league circles such as NFL (NFL). Atlanta falcons also wore the brand's equipment.

More and more athletes began to place orders with him privately. Under Armour also took the opportunity to sign a now very cost-effective sponsorship business that could sponsor us baseball star Barry Bonds for the whole season with us $5000.

It's hard to imagine that a sports brand is heated up by sports such as rugby and baseball, which rely highly on professional protective gear.

But many sportsmen feel that wearing a tight UA, fast drying suit can also make them look cool.

At that time, middle school athletes even wore an alternative method: buy UA long sleeved fast drying clothes, then cut off their sleeves to show off their muscles better.

So far, UA has completely infiltrated into the American youth market.

In 2004, the annual sales volume of Under Armour exceeded $200 million, and was successfully listed on the NYSE in 2005 years.

On the day of listing, the price of the stock was doubled.

The wind is strong, the wolf is full, beat Adidas, catch up with Nike.

In 2014, in the United States, the world's largest sportswear market, only 18 years old brand UA has surpassed Adidas for the first time, becoming the second largest sports brand in the United States after Nike, causing a stir in the sports brand industry.

According to data provided by brokerage Sterne Agee and SportScanInfo, UA sales increased by 20% to $1 billion 200 million in the first eight months of 2014, while the sales of Adidas AG group fell 23% to 1 billion 100 million dollars in the same period, and the U.S. sales of sportswear old Nike in the same period had $8 billion 900 million in U.S. sales.

After publishing the still bright 2014 fourth quarter earnings, Under Armour also gave Adidas a tough patch: in an interview with Bloomberg Television, the founder and CEO Kevin Plank (Kevin Planck), the 41 year old company, said it didn't want to compare with the "most stupid competitor".

In the sports market of North America, competition for second is much easier than competition. In 2014, the total revenue of Under Armour exceeded $3 billion, but this is still only 1/10 of Nike.

However, in the stock market, the price of Under Armour listed in 2005 was almost two times that of Nike.

Under Armour does not seem to be afraid of confrontation with Nike.

In the summer of 2014, Kevin Durant, who jumped out of the Nike sponsorship contract, was faced with a very sincere sponsorship contract of Under Armour - the total price of $285 million in 10 years, Kevin Durant (NBA).

Finally, Nike had to match the offer before winning the NBA leader.

Although the status of the industry leader can not be shaken, but the UA's rush to catch up is also the time for Nike to start worrying.

Two, bright financial data

In the past 19 years, UA's sales rose from $17 thousand in 1996 to $3 billion 800 million today. The whole history of growth can be described by a miracle.

Moreover, UA is the only enterprise in the S & P 500 index that has a sales growth of over 20% in each quarter in the past 21 quarters.

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According to the official 2015 earnings report issued by UA, we can see that from 2011 fiscal year to the 2015 fiscal year five, no matter sales or net profit, it has continued to grow.

No matter from which angle, it is a good phenomenon. Enterprises that can keep the profit growth continuously will not be bad.

From the chart, we can see that with the increase of sales volume, the stock of UA also increased significantly in five years. Next, let's take a look at the inventory turnover rate of UA 2015. By dividing the cost by the average stock in 2014 and 2015 fiscal year, the inventory turnover rate of UA is about 3.12, while the inventory turnover rate of Nike and Adidas is 3.99 and 3.10 respectively.

This shows that the rising star of UA has already been in the leading position in the industry, and the brand recognition of consumers has become a real purchasing power for UA.

Let's take a look at the cash flow section that we are most concerned about.

From the chart, we can see that from the 2013 fiscal year, the cash flow of UA has been increasing significantly, and it has increased by 88.5% over the past 15 years. It can be seen that UA's operation is very healthy.

Three, how did this level of growth grow?

Competitiveness.

All good enterprises are rooted in the core competitiveness that can not be replaced. The core competitiveness of UA is black technology and unique brand positioning.

Let's talk about black technology first.

Some of the technical and practical features of Nike and Adidas in the above picture are all reflected in UA.

Planck himself strongly rejected the idea that Under Armour was called a simple "sportswear" brand. He cares more about how to make high-tech products that can only be seen in professional sports before the general public can enjoy them.

For this reason, many athletes directly become employees of Under Armour after retiring, and have direct decision-making power in product R & D and marketing.

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At the company's headquarters in Baltimore, the innovation lab is always the best kept secret office.

During the interview, reporters found 3D printers, ecological simulation rooms, dynamic cameras, and the most effective way to test the tensile properties of fabrics: a washing machine in the laboratory.

What is most proud of this laboratory is a technology called "Cold Gear Infrared".

By improving the ceramic shell technology of fighter, the outdoor products of Under Armour can now be considered as warm, breathable and waterproof.

Next is the unique brand positioning.

The difference between Under Armour and mass sports brand positioning can be described by the difference between "Athlete" (athletes) and "Sporty man" (sports people).

Let every consumer become an athlete, Planck is always emphasizing the unique competitiveness.

That is to say, every person wearing UA in the gym has "I am a professional, and the psychological superiority of your slags" is the competitiveness of UA.

This can also be seen from the image of Under Armour's exclusive store: half of the shop salesmen are professional athletes, because Planck believes that only athletes know athletes, who want to be athletes or athletes.

The shop decoration style is rough and chill, with the cement plate texture and the cold light lamp's coordination, the cold hard aesthetic element runs through.

American stores even have bottled water for consumers in the locker room, as in the arena.

Another factor that has to be mentioned is that the promotion of performance is going all the way.

When President Obama did physical training, he wore UA's "presidential" sports shoes specially tailored to him. This moment was photographed and widely spread by the media.

The first leg of the universe mold (Taylor Swift) also love to wear UA out of the street.

And who is the strong speaker?

The five largest sports alliances in North America include five MVP, NBA Stephy Curry, Bryce Harper of the major league baseball, MVP Cam Newton of NFL regular season, Jordan League of the United States professional golf league, and the Hockey League of the United States.

Looking at such a face and body, it's me and I'm crazy about buying and buying.

Four, where is the risk?

Even if it is a healthy growth enterprise, if there is no risk awareness, it will not be able to turn growth power into market value.

Some friends may see that the stock price of UA is at a low level, so we should not hesitate to think about it. Let's take a look at the potential risks of the company before we consider it too late.

Developing new product lines

In the two quarter of June 30th, Under Armour Inc. Andrea's total revenue of US $1 billion, although it also met market expectations, was hidden.

Under Armour Inc. Andrew pillar apparel business growth decline, footwear products forced to cut prices to participate in the competition, always has the "high-end image" Under Armour Inc. Andrea wants to achieve more sales of "small targets", she has to choose to sacrifice the image.

In June, Under Armour Inc. Andrea opened a brand new fashion series, trying to get a slice of the recent fashionable sports and leisure area, and hired Belgium fashion designer Tim Coppens as the creative director of the Under Armour Sportswear (UAS) fashion series.

The UAS fashion series has a decline in the growth rate and proportion of the group's clothing category; it concealment consumers' criticism on the brand fashion of the group, and increase the three functions of loyalty and stickiness of the group's main female customers.

Professional sports T-shirt comes from Under Armour to be close to the fashion industry.

There are two results: one is the combination of professionalism and fashion, one is fashion, and the other is professional disgrace.

If Under Armour's UAS fashion series is not competitive in fashion and sports industry, it will damage and weaken the professional and high-end sporting goods image of Under Armour core itself.

In the overall clothing market, especially the women's clothing market, the performance is very low, and the shrinking situation, UAS hundreds of dollars or even up to 1500 dollar price has almost no place in the clothing market. Now even all fast fashion brands have sports series. What is the competitiveness of UAS's "fashion daily dress"?

Although UAS is just a test water, after all, it will scatter the energy of the group.

Five, conclusion

No matter how UA will behave in the public market in the future, its professional requirements and the pursuit of top high-performance products are always unwavering.