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Identifying market segments
Under Armour's strategic analysis
Under Armour's strategic analysis
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Under Armour is an American accessories and sports clothing brand. They have rapidly become one of the leading brands in the sports industry and are now front runners with Nike and Adidas in the respective field. They specialize in supplying sportswear and also have a casual clothing line.
Looking at marketing decisions Under Armour have made specifically in the macro-environment. In 2013 Under Armour were put under social pressure in order to create eco-friendly products. Therefore, they came out with a new marketing scheme called “Under Armour Green” (Koehler, 2014). Their participation in going green was due to external forces such as political and social pressures for brands to become as eco-friendly as possible. By Under Armour
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They believe that the market is divided equally with each gender making up 50% of their customers. The way that they attract females is by creating fashionable colors for the merchandise produced for females. The reason for this is that they know females generally wear sporting clothes as casual wear. Under Armour have in response to that have created yoga pants that can be worn for everyday use. “Under Armour have also produced a campaign called “Power in Pink” which is for the awareness and support for victims of breast cancer” (Barret, 2007). For males they have produced more durable and skin tight fittings with a robust color scheme. The third segmentation stage is the diverse uses consumers have for their products, examples being the use of their merchandise as professional or casual wear. Under Armour have been able to market their brand by sponsoring professional athletes as well as teams which have led to a noticeable increase in sales across the board. The last form of segmentation is the climate in which the consumers will use their merchandise in. The way Under Armour manages to accommodate both climates is that their apparel is made from a material that regulates the body temperature when doing activity in either
Overall, Under Armor did an outstanding job targeting young, aspiring athletes to do what they want to do with their life. They used logic to show how hard the athletes work along with emotion to show how serious they take their training. Finally, Under Armor used the credibility of the athletes to sell their new training shoe. This commercial will make anyone want to purchase a pair of shoes and workout themselves. Since the commercial is on such a serious level, viewers emotionally connect with it which makes Under Armor seem like the best brand
Under Armour uses pathos as well to sell their product. The way Under Armour’s ad sells is almost the same as Adidas. Under Armour’s ad creates a message that all of the greatest athletes had to work hard to get where they are now. The ad is also trying to convince the audiences that their product is what will help to be a better athlete. They also use the famous athlete to convince the audience that their products will make them become great, as well as, get their money.
The most recognized brands amongst US males in the sports and fitness clothing market are Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Puma (Statista, 2014). However, there is a large amount of opportunity to gain market share as only Nike hold a high percentage favoritism from male shoppers (Statista, 2012). Multiple brands have a stronger focus on women’s clothing such as: Fabletics, Athleta, and Lululemon. Lululemon has a similar business model however the brand has a stronger connection with women and yoga.
Under Armour provides innovatively designed performance products that incorporated a variety of technologically advanced fabrics and specialized manufacturing techniques, all in attempt to make the wearer feel “drier, lighter, and more comfortable.” This is Under Armour’s core competitive strength.
Under Armour and Nike are very close competitors in the athletic wear for sports and recreational use. Both Under Armour and Nike have goods and bads but at the end of the day Under Armour is a better company, with a better clothes line. Nike came out over thirty years before Under Armour, but Under Armour has by far surpassed Nike in popularity and style. In another thirty years when Under Armour has been out as long as Nike today, Under Armour will be more superior than Nike in the athletic field. Nike will eventually be over ran by nike and will be a small company like Adidas
Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (Lululemon) is renowned for its technical, high-quality yoga-inspired apparel for women. However, the company is growing beyond this niche market and is therefore altering its competitive strategy. Lululemon utilizes a broad differentiation strategy because its target market is broad and its product line is varied, it stresses product innovation, and its community-based marketing and retail experience sustain its differentiation from competitors.
Athletics Supreme offers a full range of athletic gear and equipment. The gear and equipment that the company sells is a top quality product that has a well established reputation in the market. The apparel sold at Athletics Supreme include several active wear lines that are made of the state of the art moisture wicking fabric designed to move perspiration away from the athletes body to the outer layer of the garment where it can evaporate keeping the athlete cool (WSI, 2015). Athletics Supreme provides this high-tech apparel along with the industry standard apparel for all outdoor activities. All of the apparel sold by Athletics Supreme comes with a thirty day money back or exchange policy for unworn articles of clothing.
Under Armour’s target market is consumers that are involved in physical activities. The demographic age groups that they cater to varies from youth to adults. Their products can with stand any weather condition from cold weather to warm weather, which means their product can be used in any geographic location. These consumers can be either light user like walkers or heavy users like football players.
Under Armour is a leading athletic clothing line directed towards the overall athlete who is looking for the most comfort during extracurricular activities. The mission of the company is, "to provide the world with technically advanced products engineered with exclusive fabric construction, supreme moisture management, and proven innovation. In short, every Under Armour product is doing something for you; it's making you better."
The second recommendation for Under Armour is that they should develop a shoe line and marketing campaign for women, based on the idea of everyday athlete. Focusing on the fact that women want to compete and have the same performance benefits that everyone wants, but also have a shoe that is stylish enough that she can wear straight
Under Amour Company ventured into a market segment that was overcrowded, it had thousands of companies that competed against each other. Out of the many companies involved in the trade, the two most formidable threats seemed to be orchestrated by Nike and Adidas. These are two giant sports apparel and footwear, which pride themselves as having been long term veterans in the industry. Nike in particular was christened as the ultimate shoe and athletic apparel company with revenues of $18.6 billion, net income of $1.9 billion and more than thirty two thousand employees globally in the year 2008. This makes it the largest athletic shoe and apparel seller in the world. This company has seen major expansions in outlets throughout the world over the years. Adidas on its part has managed to build a powerful brand through its technological innovations and aggressive marketing where they spend up to thirteen per cent of their revenue besides offering high quality services. These scenarios seem to present Under Armour with a massive competitive disadvantage.
The sports apparel and accessories industry has a highly competitive market. Businesses are constantly competing for elite athletes to sponsor, raw materials, and every opportunity to expand. Under Armour is able to not only survive but thrive in this market because of their ability to think outside of the box. They are constantly creating new and exciting products that help athletes everywhere.
Nike’s positioning in the market has more of a mass appeal compared to their main competitor Adidas who strive to make products for elite athletes. The positioning strategy for Nike is currently working at a satisfactory level as Nikes global annual sales between 2013-2014 was reported as 27.8 billion (Statista, 2014) compared to Adidas’ 19.95 billion (Statista, 2014). The global market for sports apparel is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4% between 2012-2019, Nikes compound annual growth rate during 2010-2012 was 12.3% which is an excellent result as the brand’s growth was larger than the market as well as outgrowing Nike’s closest competitors Adidas, Puma and Asics (Forbes,
As a response of various environmental issues from the textile manufacturing industry, green or sustainable textile manufacturing has aroused in recent years. The idea and concept of sustainable textile manufacturing is involving ethical and sustainable considerations to the entire supply chain process, from textile production to apparel manufacturing to retailing. “According to the Ethical Fashion Forum (2011), ethical fashion “represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of clothing which maximizes benefits to people and communities while minimizing impact on the environment.” The ethical fashion industry follows an ethical production cycle which creates social and environmental value.” (Cervellon & Wernerfelt, 2012, p. 177) Consumers is the biggest contributor and the reason of success for the textile manufacturing industry, therefore, in order to promote the growth and future for sustainable textile manufacturing, the education and knowledge that consumers have on green fashion and a new mindset for business and manufacturing are crucial for the future of a better environment for
...ual Income Statement). Adidas has chosen not to make their advertising plans publicly known (How Much Money Does Adidas Spend on Advertising?).Under Armour is an up and coming company founded in 1996, their net income starting at 46.79 million and by 2013 ending with 162.17 million dollars (UA Annual Income Statement). Under Armour is focusing their advertising on internet marketing and mobile marketing, 6,500 dollars towards a mobile app and an overall advertising budget of 40,000 (Zoe Suffety).