Under Armour's Footwear Foray

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Brand Appeal

The strength of the brand can be seen in the bugged-out eyes of Adam Peyton, a 19-year-old college student in Ann Arbor, Mich., who wears nothing but Under Armour shirts and shorts when he works out at the YMCA. While shooting baskets, he spied a pair of premarket Prototypes and demanded to try them on. "I heard about these things…UA is my brand," Peyton says. "Nikes are good, but everybody has Nike."

If Under Armour's track record with performance apparel is any indication of the strength of its brand, Nike and Adidas are right to keep an eye on the upstart, which is expected to post about $605 million in sales last year, up from $431 million in 2006. UA has 43% of the total U.S. performance apparel business sold through sporting goods stores, versus 32% for Nike and 5.1% for Adidas. "Under Armour is identified with performance the way Starbucks is identified with better coffee, and that is a huge advantage in entering new categories," says independent marketing consultant Dennis Keene.

Under Armour's Plank is nearly obsessed with maintaining that differentiation from Nike, and refers to "authenticity" as his guiding principal when it comes to growing or communicating the brand. Under Armour, for example, identifies itself with team sports, rather than individual sports and fashion. Susquehanna's Shanley says that 90% of Nike and Adidas shoes never see a court or playing field. "Everything we do is centered on performance…we aren't ever going to develop products to fill up a sales table," says Plank. Specifically, Plank says, UA will never produce cotton shirts or pants.

That means Under Armour's brand has to carry the load. That's because none of the fabrics UA uses in its products are patented or special. Nike, Adidas, Russell, and Private Label all compete against UA with the same kinds of shirts and shorts that do not absorb perspiration.

No Sports Drinks

The Prototypes, which will carry prices ranging from $89 to $100, are designed to ignite the stagnant segment of cross-trainer sneakers, as well as secure three places on the sneaker walls of sporting goods stores from the start. The shoes come in three versions: Proto Power, Proto Speed, and Proto Evade. All three have what Plank calls "directional cushioning," padding where the athlete's foot needs it most. The Speed shoe is designed for straight-ahead speed, or someone who runs a lot. The Evade is cushioned especially for lateral movement, perhaps for someone who works out aerobically or with weights. The Power is a high-top sneaker that could be suitable for cross-training, as well as basketball, but UA won't sell it for hoops. A basketball shoe, though, is sure to come next year.

In Year One, says Plank, the shoes' availability will be limited. To help build anticipation among brand fans, stores will install a countdown clock marking the days until May when the shoes arrive. Under Armour is also adding to its distribution this year, says Battista, with 250,000 square feet of additional selling space in stores.

Plank knows that he is entering the gladiator's pit. But UA has already stung Adidas in the small-cleated shoes market by snatching 11.3%—the same share as the German sports company—of the baseball shoe market in its first year. It took 20% of the football shoe market in its first year. The CEO, who started conceiving the first UA shirts while a student at the University of Maryland in the mid-1990s, says the Prototype line is a big step in transforming the company.

Today, for example, women's apparel represents only about 23% of sales. He expects that market to eventually make up more than half the company's sales. And he expects footwear to eventually eclipse apparel sales. In the future, he also sees sports equipment like balls and exercise equipment as possibilities. Among the opportunities he has refused so far is an Under Armour-branded sports drink.

Says Plank, "We have a brand story we are telling, and we have to take it chapter by chapter."

Kiley is a senior correspondent in BusinessWeek's Detroit bureau .