http://www.oregonlive.com/playbooks-profits/index.ssf/2015/04/under_armour_rides_jordan_spie.html
[h=1]Under Armour rides Jordan Spieth to Masters victory[/h]
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Jordan Spieth reacts to making his par putt on the 16th green closing in on the green jacket winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton)
Bloomberg News By Bloomberg NewsThe Oregonian
on April 13, 2015 at 3:39 PM
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Jordan Spieth's Masters Tournament title marked his first major victory, while continuing a string of them for Under Armour Inc.In February, Under Armour introduced its first basketball shoe tied to a specific player: top National Basketball Association All-Star vote-getter Stephen Curry. In March, a company-best six teams, including the University of Notre Dame, wore its shoes in college basketball's national men's tournament. Now it has put itself on the golf apparel map via Spieth, the 21-year-old Texan who shredded Augusta National Golf Club over four days to tie four-time winner Tiger Woods's tournament scoring record.
The navy and white outfit of Spieth, the first wire-to-wire Masters winner since Raymond Floyd in 1976, was covered in Under Armour logos Sunday during his four-stroke victory over three- time Masters champion Phil Mickelson and 2013 U.S. Open winner Justin Rose. Finishing fourth was No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy, who is now just ahead of Spieth in the Official World Golf Ranking.
"You look at this overall changing of the guard that they were talking about yesterday with McIlroy and Spieth -- not replacing Mickelson and Woods -- but this overall feeling that there is a transition going on," said sports marketing professor David Carter. "You can't help but notice that there might also be a transition going on in the apparel business."
Chasing Nike
Baltimore-based Under Armour last year had $3.08 billion in sales, surpassing Adidas as the No. 2 sports apparel maker. Under Armour in February reiterated it expects sales to climb 22 percent, still way below Nike Inc., which had revenue in the 12 months through February of $30.2 billion.
Under Armour signed Spieth when he turned pro in 2013 at age 19. In January, the company extended his contract for 10 years, making him the first golfer outfitted head-to-toe in Under Armour apparel. Spieth has been involved in developing the company's first golf shoe, a limited edition which went on sale this month. Under Armour also has endorsement deals with golfers Hunter Mahan and Gary Woodland.
Wearing three Under Armour logos on his hat, three on his shirt, one his belt, two on his pants and logos on his shoes, Spieth earned Under Armour $30.7 million in exposure over four days of Masters television coverage on CBS and ESPN, according to Eric Smallwood, a Detroit-based sports sponsorship analyst.
As well as helping to sell more apparel, Spieth's historic victory will also boost Under Armour's image, said Sam Poser, a New York-based analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. who recommends buying the shares.
"It's not about the sport," Poser said. "It's about the spectacle, about the winning. Everyone in the world is going to know who Jordan Spieth is even if you're not a golf fan."
Stock Surge
Shares in Under Armour have climbed 66 percent in the past year, valuing the company at $18.3 billion. Since Jan. 1, 2012, the stock has surged almost five times to $85.13, as of 12:45 p.m. New York time, from $17.95.
Founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, Under Armour has forced its way into a sporting goods market that a decade ago seemed impenetrable, said Carter.
"They've put a lot of the traditional heavyweights not only on notice, but on defense because of some of the signings they've made," Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, said in a phone interview. "They've gone from building relevance in the marketplace to now being one of the stalwarts that everyone's paying attention to."
Good Manners
Spieth drew praise from commentators Sunday for his skill and his demeanor, such as when he gave a thumbs up and a smile to playing partner Rose following a good shot.
"It's how the game was founded," Spieth said at a news conference, wearing the champion's traditional green jacket. "It's a game of integrity."
Spieth's deportment deprived Under Armour of a further chance to raise awareness of its brand, said Carter. The champion kept a victory lap around the 18th green brief and removed his hat to shake hands with Rose and celebrate with others, in line with traditional manners.
"I kept thinking the kid keeps taking off his hat," Carter said. "Put your hat back on. Put your hat back on."
--With assistance from Matt Townsend in New York.
[h=1]Under Armour rides Jordan Spieth to Masters victory[/h]
<!-- /headline -->AX066_2032_9.JPG
Jordan Spieth reacts to making his par putt on the 16th green closing in on the green jacket winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton)
Bloomberg News By Bloomberg NewsThe Oregonian
on April 13, 2015 at 3:39 PM
<!-- /Byline -->
<!-- /social_top --><!-- /social_mobile --><!-- series --><!-- /series --><!-- Aka Story Package --><!-- gallery-preview --><!-- /gallery-preview --><!-- Aka Secondary Package -->
<!-- /storypackage -->
<!-- /#article_inset --><!-- Article -->
Jordan Spieth's Masters Tournament title marked his first major victory, while continuing a string of them for Under Armour Inc.In February, Under Armour introduced its first basketball shoe tied to a specific player: top National Basketball Association All-Star vote-getter Stephen Curry. In March, a company-best six teams, including the University of Notre Dame, wore its shoes in college basketball's national men's tournament. Now it has put itself on the golf apparel map via Spieth, the 21-year-old Texan who shredded Augusta National Golf Club over four days to tie four-time winner Tiger Woods's tournament scoring record.
The navy and white outfit of Spieth, the first wire-to-wire Masters winner since Raymond Floyd in 1976, was covered in Under Armour logos Sunday during his four-stroke victory over three- time Masters champion Phil Mickelson and 2013 U.S. Open winner Justin Rose. Finishing fourth was No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy, who is now just ahead of Spieth in the Official World Golf Ranking.
"You look at this overall changing of the guard that they were talking about yesterday with McIlroy and Spieth -- not replacing Mickelson and Woods -- but this overall feeling that there is a transition going on," said sports marketing professor David Carter. "You can't help but notice that there might also be a transition going on in the apparel business."
Chasing Nike
Baltimore-based Under Armour last year had $3.08 billion in sales, surpassing Adidas as the No. 2 sports apparel maker. Under Armour in February reiterated it expects sales to climb 22 percent, still way below Nike Inc., which had revenue in the 12 months through February of $30.2 billion.
Under Armour signed Spieth when he turned pro in 2013 at age 19. In January, the company extended his contract for 10 years, making him the first golfer outfitted head-to-toe in Under Armour apparel. Spieth has been involved in developing the company's first golf shoe, a limited edition which went on sale this month. Under Armour also has endorsement deals with golfers Hunter Mahan and Gary Woodland.
Wearing three Under Armour logos on his hat, three on his shirt, one his belt, two on his pants and logos on his shoes, Spieth earned Under Armour $30.7 million in exposure over four days of Masters television coverage on CBS and ESPN, according to Eric Smallwood, a Detroit-based sports sponsorship analyst.
As well as helping to sell more apparel, Spieth's historic victory will also boost Under Armour's image, said Sam Poser, a New York-based analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. who recommends buying the shares.
"It's not about the sport," Poser said. "It's about the spectacle, about the winning. Everyone in the world is going to know who Jordan Spieth is even if you're not a golf fan."
Stock Surge
Shares in Under Armour have climbed 66 percent in the past year, valuing the company at $18.3 billion. Since Jan. 1, 2012, the stock has surged almost five times to $85.13, as of 12:45 p.m. New York time, from $17.95.
Founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, Under Armour has forced its way into a sporting goods market that a decade ago seemed impenetrable, said Carter.
"They've put a lot of the traditional heavyweights not only on notice, but on defense because of some of the signings they've made," Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, said in a phone interview. "They've gone from building relevance in the marketplace to now being one of the stalwarts that everyone's paying attention to."
Good Manners
Spieth drew praise from commentators Sunday for his skill and his demeanor, such as when he gave a thumbs up and a smile to playing partner Rose following a good shot.
"It's how the game was founded," Spieth said at a news conference, wearing the champion's traditional green jacket. "It's a game of integrity."
Spieth's deportment deprived Under Armour of a further chance to raise awareness of its brand, said Carter. The champion kept a victory lap around the 18th green brief and removed his hat to shake hands with Rose and celebrate with others, in line with traditional manners.
"I kept thinking the kid keeps taking off his hat," Carter said. "Put your hat back on. Put your hat back on."
--With assistance from Matt Townsend in New York.
BOOM--
http://www.sentinelsource.com/busin...f-ed7d-5fd7-9b44-cce047792dff.html?mode=print
<!-- Domain: www.sentinelsource.com, BLOX CMS version: 1.21.8, BLOX Template version: 1.15.10.1, BLOX Application: editorial, BLOX Application Skin: editorial-core-base, User status: User is not logged in, Timestamp: 11:53:07 pm -->[h=1]Under Armour is hot: It's now going after basketball shoes[/h] By Heather Long CNN News Service | Posted: Saturday, July 25, 2015 8:00 am
Under Armour is winning a lot these days.
Its star athletes are winning about every major award on the planet, and the company just announced its 21st consecutive quarter of 20 percent or more growth.
No wonder Under Armour stock soared over 8 percent to hit an all-time high of $97 a share on Thursday.
“I would like to go to the race track with [Under Armour CEO] Kevin Plank. He picks winners,” says Corinna Freedman, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets, who follows the company.
The company’s next goal is clear: Beat Nike. The basketball shoe market is central to that goal.
Under Armour champs: Basketball superstar Stephen Curry wore Under Armour on his way to winning the NBA championship and becoming the most valuable player in the league. Young golfer Jordan Spieth surprised many by winning the Masters Tournament this year and followed that up by besting everyone at the U.S. Open. He, too, was sporting Under Armour attire.
Under Armour is even crushing it in the world of ballet. Under Armour had run an iconic ad with Misty Copeland in the summer of 2014. And Copeland just became the first African-American dancer promoted to principal at the American Ballet Theatre.
The brand knows how to win, and wants to translate that into more sales. Under Armour raised its 2015 forecasts. It now expects revenue to grow 25 percent this year.
Related: Nike, Under Armour face off over new golf stars
“We want to see (the success in golf) in basketball and running,” CEO Kevin Plank said on a call with analysts Thursday. “We want to win.”
Nike currently controls about 90 percent of the basketball shoe market thanks to the huge success of its Air Jordan brand. But Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is the new face, and his shoes are Under Armour.
Wall Street analysts like Freedman are keeping a close eye on shoes sales. It will be a key indicator of just how strong the Under Armour brand is going forward.
“We think the momentum is still there. They are riding a wave of incredible success this year that should help sales for next year,” says Freedman.
Beyond shoes: The other big focus for Under Armour is growing a mobile and online “fitness community.” Under Armour claims it is adding a massive 100,000 new users a day to its Connected Fitness community platform and that it has 140 million users already there.
The signature piece is a gear tracker that allowed people to track the performance of their shoes or gear.
“Eventually everything we have will have a chip in it,” says CEO Plank. “We hope to use this to sell more shirts and shoes.”
http://www.sentinelsource.com/busin...f-ed7d-5fd7-9b44-cce047792dff.html?mode=print
<!-- Domain: www.sentinelsource.com, BLOX CMS version: 1.21.8, BLOX Template version: 1.15.10.1, BLOX Application: editorial, BLOX Application Skin: editorial-core-base, User status: User is not logged in, Timestamp: 11:53:07 pm -->[h=1]Under Armour is hot: It's now going after basketball shoes[/h] By Heather Long CNN News Service | Posted: Saturday, July 25, 2015 8:00 am
Under Armour is winning a lot these days.
Its star athletes are winning about every major award on the planet, and the company just announced its 21st consecutive quarter of 20 percent or more growth.
No wonder Under Armour stock soared over 8 percent to hit an all-time high of $97 a share on Thursday.
“I would like to go to the race track with [Under Armour CEO] Kevin Plank. He picks winners,” says Corinna Freedman, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets, who follows the company.
The company’s next goal is clear: Beat Nike. The basketball shoe market is central to that goal.
Under Armour champs: Basketball superstar Stephen Curry wore Under Armour on his way to winning the NBA championship and becoming the most valuable player in the league. Young golfer Jordan Spieth surprised many by winning the Masters Tournament this year and followed that up by besting everyone at the U.S. Open. He, too, was sporting Under Armour attire.
Under Armour is even crushing it in the world of ballet. Under Armour had run an iconic ad with Misty Copeland in the summer of 2014. And Copeland just became the first African-American dancer promoted to principal at the American Ballet Theatre.
The brand knows how to win, and wants to translate that into more sales. Under Armour raised its 2015 forecasts. It now expects revenue to grow 25 percent this year.
Related: Nike, Under Armour face off over new golf stars
“We want to see (the success in golf) in basketball and running,” CEO Kevin Plank said on a call with analysts Thursday. “We want to win.”
Nike currently controls about 90 percent of the basketball shoe market thanks to the huge success of its Air Jordan brand. But Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is the new face, and his shoes are Under Armour.
Wall Street analysts like Freedman are keeping a close eye on shoes sales. It will be a key indicator of just how strong the Under Armour brand is going forward.
“We think the momentum is still there. They are riding a wave of incredible success this year that should help sales for next year,” says Freedman.
Beyond shoes: The other big focus for Under Armour is growing a mobile and online “fitness community.” Under Armour claims it is adding a massive 100,000 new users a day to its Connected Fitness community platform and that it has 140 million users already there.
The signature piece is a gear tracker that allowed people to track the performance of their shoes or gear.
“Eventually everything we have will have a chip in it,” says CEO Plank. “We hope to use this to sell more shirts and shoes.”
