Baltimore's Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) is opening up its first retail location soon in the spirit of the company's brash, emotional and engaging marketing. In other words, stepping foot into an Under Armour store will make customers feel like they are in one of the company's engaging and sweat-strewn television commercials. That's just fine with Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank.Although I'm wary on standalone retail locations for single brands (Apple being the lone exception), this one will probably work. The key is to engage the customer in emotional fashion and connect with why they are there in the first place. Did you notice there is a difference between walking into an Apple store and a CompUSA? Sure, one is a single brand and the other is a retailer with hundreds of brands. Is the experience the same? Not at all.
Under Armour's slick and well-produced commercials (a-la Gatorade's neon-sweat commercials) appeal to the male testosterone junkie better than most, and recreating that experience upon entering and browsing a retail location will score major points with the demographic that shops for sports apparel at an Under Armour store. Plank says it all here: "What I don't think the world needs is a slightly better athletic retail store ... it's our job to redefine the paradigm of what the consumer and the athlete are looking for." There you have it. Me-too athletic retail strategies are so 1990, eh?
Before the bell: Futures higher ahead of housing, jobless data
Nuclear power is on the comeback trail
Apple backs AT&T in continuing spat with Verizon
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-26-2007 @ 8:52PM
frank blatt said...
I know UA spent a fortune in advertizing. We recently spent several days in London on vacation and saw billboards about UA on a nationally televised soccer match. It was neat.
6-09-2007 @ 12:54PM
bev wright said...
In contrast to Apple, stand alone retail locations may not work for UA. The UA differentiation is largely one of marketing image rather than Apple's technologically- based product. Using Warren Buffett's measure-- determine how wide and deep the moat of competitive advantage is that surrounds a company-- seems to give a disturbing answer for UA. The company shows signs of slowing growth and margin declines. The mgmt team does not appear to be first rate and the financial side looks weak. Retail locations could save the day-- for a while-- but my guess is that they spell the beginning of end of the good ole days for UA.
6-19-2007 @ 7:51PM
RJ LYONS said...
I hate to be the one to break the news but UA already has a retail store in operation for over a year. Its located in the Spectrum Shopping Center in Irvine, California. Additionally, it looks dramatically similar in layout to the Rebok store it's next to.