One of many articles about the business that have come out this week is linked below.
Not sure we picked the best partner here. This week, the Company finally fired its Senior Vice President of Global Sports Marketing and Senior Director of Sports Marketing. There were rumors of gifts to athletes, and they were signing off on company "entertainment" that involved taking clients to strip clubs and other inappropriate places. Not a good look for us to be associated with this business.
Beyond that, it just seems like the business isn't being run well. From the article:
"Going into the meeting, analysts and investors are somewhat skeptical the retailer will be able to continue to grow sales, especially in the U.S., where the market is highly competitive and has been plagued by wholesale retailers like Sports Authority going bankrupt." The Company itself has projected apparel Revenue in the US will be down this coming year.
So we've got a sleezy company here that hasn't figured out that items like the Yankee Stadium alternatives just won't sell. And remember, we got stock in the Company when we signed our UA deal, so Notre Dame is losing money this morning as well.
The company’s stock is up ~70% over the last several months. The issues with culture and the worries about the brand’s future are relatively recent, I believe.
The UnderArmour deal was announced in early 2014
Price of UA stock, then to now: $30 down to $19
Price of DJIA, then to now: 16400 to 24400
Swarbrick’s kid’s sweet marketing job: Priceless
Now that’s Savvy!
The stock has been a huge winner YTD, but over the last 3 years its down like 60%.
for the first time?
In late 2015 they were trading around $50 a share.
They haven't been North of 30 since late 2016.
That they have come back from the nadir of $11 a share since November of 17 to be in the mid 20s shouldn't give anyone comfort.
Like I said, they've been having issues for a couple of years now.
A comparison of the past 5 years with Nike and Adidas doesn't look good, regardless of stock class.
Nor does this
Their lack of global presence is killing them. That, and Plank is a great product line manager but not a good executive.
after we signed the deal with them? Remember how many fanboys lauded our brilliant AD for signing such a "landmark" deal and how this would far exceed anything we had with Champion or Addidas in terms of innovation and "brand."
How are those plaudits looking nowadays?
UA is overpriced cheap looking garbage. That they price their sweat wicking zubas class sweatshirts north of $100 is an indictment on anyone who buys this crap. The bookstore should have a purging of all their "gear" and return to Champion post haste.
when, only two years after signing a 10-year, $90 million deal ($9 mill/yr) with UA, UCLA signed a 15-year, $280 million deal ($18.67 mill/year) with the company.
The fact UA *has* tanked just makes it even worse.
than sports. The US Military is what really helped it ramp from 2002-2005, ordering hundreds of thousands of the shirts and other gear. I was part of PEO Soldier when we started ordering them for troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Same thing with camel back. Prior to 2003 it was doing a couple million in sales.
#Rushfromthechristmastree2thegarbagecan.
That Malpass has converted all of that stock at this point.
But UA sucks. They thought if they threw money at the right athletes, they'd be just like Nike and Jordan.
Unfortunately for them, it's not 1984 anymore. You have to have a good product, and their products are subpar compared to others in the industry.
"In a 2017 Wells Fargo survey of young male consumers, 27% of survey participants ranked Under Armour favorably, compared to 81% for Nike."
Nike and Adidas throw a lot more money at athletes. Including those still in high school.