Strategic Management Capstone ON Under Armour
Help writing 6-7 page Capstone paper and should be written from a management analyst’s perspective and recommendations should be data driven, rooted in the research and directed toward management on Strategic Management on The Company Under Amour using Stead, J.G. and Stead, W.E. (2014) Sustainable Strategic Management, 2nd Edition. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 9780765635457 as one the references. Copy of book is not provided. Must have SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opporunity and Threats) table preferable in the beginning. 6-7 Full pages does not include title page or references.
Using the following terms or concepts as bases for the paper.
Strategic Planning
Sustainable Strategic Management (SSM)
Strategic Vision
Strategies Core Competencies
Triple Bottom Line
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model
Cost Leadership Strategy
Late Mover
Leadership Theories
Running head: BEING OF UNDER ARMOUR COMPANY 1
BEING OF UNDER ARMOUR COMPANY 3
Introduction Of Under Armour
James Greene
January 08, 2020
University Of Redlands
BUSB 485 SD12
Undergraduate Capstone Paper
Instructor Richard Doyle
Under Armour, Inc. is an American based company that deals with the manufacturing of footwear, sports shoes as well as other casual attire. The global headquarter of the company is in Baltimore, Maryland, with Amsterdam being the European headquarter. Under Armour was established on September 25, 1966, by Kelvin Plank, which was at the time 23 years old. (“History of Under Armour,” 2018). Kelvin was a former captain of the particular football team at the University of Maryland. Having no other to start a business from, Plank started his brand from a basement owned by his grandmother in Washington, D.C. The idea of coming up with his brand was initiated when he was back on the football team where he realized that the then cotton made T-Shirts the team was wearing quickly become soaked with sweat and became so heavy (“History of Under Armour,” 2018). The high dissatisfaction of the cotton T-shirt led to Kelvin’s idea of coming up with a better T-shirt.
Upon graduation, Kelvin decided to come up with a more superior T-Shirt, which would retain its white color even when exposed to a lot of heating. Plank started his work and creation of infamous fabric samples New York garment district and came up with the first mock-up. To get more information after his mock-up Plank ensured to give his friends as well as his former Maryland teammates. Utilizing the feedback from the friends and teammate, Plank continued to work on his brand and come up with a new, improved T-shirt that was built through the use of microbes that had the capability of weakening moisture and thus keeping individual dry, lightweight and cool.
During his initial period, Plank used his car to go around selling his product on the East Coast. At the end of 1996, Plank was ready to have his first team sale, where he managed to sell attire worth $17 000 to the Georgia football team. Major division 1 team followed after this with two dozen teams from the NFL. With this growth, the company needed to expand and thus moved to from the basement to South Baltimore, where the company is currently located. In 1999, under Amour was contracted by a Warner Brother”s, and the company was requested to outfit the football movies that were upcoming (“History of Under Armour,” 2018). The under Armour company was able to deliver, and the events gave the company a massive push. In the year 2003, the company was able to come up with its first commercial television. Currently, the company, is involved in developing gear lines where it is involved with coming up with cold gear, headgear as well as AllseasonGear. All through the years, the under Armour has had significant growth where the brand in the year 2015 had a net total of $ 232.6M in 2015 with an estimated revenue of $5.2 in 2018. The company is still in the process of expanding to other games as well as output, where the company specializes today with different variety of apparel and clothing which range from cold weather design as well as outdoorsmen that are usable in harsh climates (“History of Under Armour,” 2018). Among the many reasons that have led to the success of the under Amour company, the company logo has contributed to the company’s success by attracting the attention of many individuals all over the world. The company logo popularity is one of the driving forces that has led to the success of the company, especially when it comes to the sale of the clothing. Although the company has products with better functionality coupled with higher aesthetic appeal, the company utilizes its logo as one of the critical features of the design.
In 2008, under Amour company expanded its product lines to include footwear as well as other accessories. The current mission values and vision of the Under Amour company is to provide better direction both in the strategic and operation of the company. Of the strategies that the company is using to outperform its competitors is coming up with more performance features, coming up with more designs that are appealing, producing products that are of better quality as well as increasing its product lines. Through this, the under Amour company seeks to achieve a more competitive advantage over other already established firms. Through coming up with products that have different features, which include higher quality, added value, increased product base, improved performance, better services, technological superiority as well as better styles, the company is likely to gain more competitive advantage and be able to compete with its competitors. Under Armour, competitors include Adidas and Nike (“History of Under Armour,” 2018). The under Armour company products are of high quality and are readily available. With the recent expansion to children’s product lines, the company is likely to attract more customers to its store and thus increase its sales.
Although the company faces a lot of competition from other giants such as Nike and Adidas, through better innovative ways that are likely to lure customers, its products are expected to improve the company’s competitive advantage. The company has a great future, especially with the current trends where consumers are currently advocating for a healthier and active lifestyle. With the current plans of the company to distribute and supply athletic gear with high quality and aesthetic value to both athletic teams and individuals both globally and locally, the company is likely to increase its sales and market itself more. Also, through expanding to other sports such as baseball, basketball, and football, the company will increase its product line more and, at the same time, attract more customers.
References
History of Under Armour. (2018, August 1). Retrieved from https://www.mainlinemenswear.co.uk/blog/2016/history-of-under-armour
Joe – LMW Admin. (2019, December 19). The History of Under Armour and their Logo. Retrieved from http://blog.logomyway.com/history-under-armour-logo/