Why can UnderArmour become the second largest sports brand in the United States?

UnderArmour started late in the US market and was founded in 1996. Initially, it only produced high-performance tight-fitting sportswear suitable for professional athletes. As of 2014, UnderArmour's sales revenue reached US$3.08 billion and its net profit was US$210 million. Since its listing in 2005, the GAGR (composite annual growth rate) of revenue and net profit has been around 30%. In 2015, UnderArmour surpassed Adidas as the second largest sports brand in the United States.

Kevin Plank, the founder of UnderArmour, was the captain of the University of Maryland football team. He was not satisfied with the sweat-absorbing performance of cotton clothes during the training process. This motivated him to start looking for a material that could quickly absorb sweat and perspiration, and eventually create a sports brand that would enhance athletes' performance. Later, UnderArmour's tights products spread to the National Football League (NFL) because of its comfort and breathability. Immediately afterwards, UnderArmour also developed a stadium spiked shoe tailored specifically for rugby players.

UnderArmour's flagship product is tight sportswear. In 2014, tight sportswear accounted for as much as 74% of UnderArmour’s revenue, and accounted for 80% of the US functional sportswear market, of which the sales performance of running sportswear was the most prominent. UnderArmour products use sweat-absorbing polyester as the material, making differentiated products and becoming the target of other brands. In addition, UnderArmour’s sports products are gradually expanding into sports equipment such as sports shoes and sunglasses.

In terms of layout of Internet technology applications, UnderArmour also walks in front of other sports brands. In 2013, UnderArmour acquired the fitness application MapMyFitness. In 2015, UnderArmour acquired MyFitnessPal, a health and nutrition tracking application, and Endomondo, a social sports tracking software, to enter the online health community and wearables. Currently, UnderArmour has launched UnderArmourRecord, a user platform benchmarking with Nike+, to create a digital motion platform.

UnderArmour can rise rapidly in the US market that has been divided up by several big giants, and has been continuously successful, mainly due to the following reasons:

Finding a small breakthrough and building barriers in the market segment

UnderArmour started with sports tights and rug protectors, occupying the smaller market share first. Such market segments have high technical barriers. Adidas and Nike, which have too long product lines and too many sports coverage, are difficult to shake.

Professional market positioning

UnderArmour is centered on its main product leotard and has identified two main groups of customers: professional athletes and professional users with diligent practice. The establishment of a core user group has helped UnderArmour expand its reach into a broader user base: The masses of users also have the desire to become professional users, and are thus easily influenced by the recommendations of more professional athletes.

Build up loyal users with star effects and word of mouth

As the world’s No. 1 sports power, the United States also cares about professional training and also considers the impact of the technical functions of sports products on athletes. Taking the Under Armour Biometric Sprints as an example, it can monitor and instantly transmit athlete's heartbeat, gravity, and other data for expert analysis. With perfect high-tech performance, UnderArmour has long been sought after by many sports stars, swimming star Phelps, NBA star Curry is its brand spokesperson.

With strong celebrity influence, UnderArmour further penetrated the product into other target consumer groups and expanded its influence among young Americans, especially university students. In addition, the gym has also become a place where the coverage of UnderArmour products is extremely high. With the word-of-mouth effect, the scale of its users continues to expand.

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The opportunity to post brand is to find a small breakthrough point and build barriers in the market segment.

Use brand professionalism and industry resources to maintain product R&D capabilities, promote products with the help of celebrity effects, and accumulate reputation.