Reference no: EM131117369

Case Study: Under Armour

Founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, Under Armour was the originator of performance apparel-gear engineered to keep athletes cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice, or workout. By 2013, sales had mushroomed to $2.3 billion, giving UA a 14.7 percent share of the U.S. market for sports apparel (up from 12.7 percent in 2012 and 11.1 percent in 2011), which compared quite favorably with Nike's 27 percent market share and Adidas's 7.4 percent market share. In the synthetic performance-apparel segment-a market niche with estimated sales of $3 to $4 billion in 2013-Under Armour had an approximate 60 percent market share.

Using your critical thinking skills, prepare an evaluation of Under Armour's strategy to capture more market share and expand its sales and products while considering the following issues:

1. Discuss the key elements of Under Armour's strategy and why it was successful.
2. Identify Under Armour's core competencies.
3. Identify Under Armour's resource strengths and competitive capabilities that make them distinctive.
4. Discuss Under Armour's financial performance from 2008-2014.
5. What distinct advantages Under Armour has over its competition.
6. What top priority issues does Kevin Plank need to focus on.