Under Armour Case Study Analysis Report - Assignment Solution

INTRODUCTION 

Founded in the Mid 90’s, Under Armour is a company that has achieved beyond most odds, defying the conventional marketing tactics along with building itself as properly managed company that serves its unique and diverse set of products to the world. Having keen competition in the field of sports apparel, tackling and maintaining its competitive edge over industry giants such as Nike, Adidas and similar others, Under Armour became from a start up to a multi-million dollar company today (McDonald, Christensen, West, et-al, 2017).

McDonald, Christensen, West, et-al, (2017) further described that over the years there have been many instances where their consistency has been judged but they’ve answered back by introducing innovation and creativity to both their products and their management. In today’s ever changing corporate world it is hard to stay relevant without keep on updating. Under Armour started from selling unique sweat free and breathable under shirts to now having a diverse range of products for men, women and children where products include athletic apparel, footwear and even school supplies amongst many other categories.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

Keeping in consideration Under Armour’s initiation and the competition they had to face along with the political, social, economic and technological implications, collective with ethical and legal obligations, a PEST analysis is elaborated as follows:

Political 

As per Chatterji and Toffel,, (2018) during Under Armour’s initiation as a brand, the rules and regulations in the athletics Apparel industry had been well defined and followed by established brands such as Nike, Adidas and even startups. As a start-up, Under Armour were selling their signature Heat Gear shirts to sports teams in schools and colleges, the careful consideration of political attributes were considered right after they started to gain recognition and their operations were being worked on a big scale.

Economical

The aggregate demand and supply being important factors of an economy and its GDP, it is evident that the statistics were being carefully considered by the firm, when it came to selling goods to different market. Once Under Armour’s reputation reached international status, they began to export their diverse range of products, directly having a good impact on the economy (Montgomery, Chester and Kopp, 2018).

Social

Under Armour has well adapted to the social conventions over the past two decades. They had started their business with selling athletic apparel for men, soon with the realization of new segments along their professional growth the realization of introducing athletic as well as customer wear for women and children of all ages had been worked upon (White, White and White, 2017). The authors further described that the lifestyles and values of its consumers involving the social construct, have been carefully considered by the organization and they have grown accustom to the values and traditions of various societies it operates in today. The social environment that Under Armour was established in, invited great opportunities for entrepreneurs that could cater to a vast majority of consumers belonging to different social groups.  

Technological

One of the highlighted and most profitable factors of Under Armour’s success is the utilization of the most updated technology which has aided them in enhancing their production and manufacturing processes. In today’s fast paced world, a brand needs to keep on innovating and bring creativity to maintain their competitive edge (Ratten, 2019). Ratten, (2019) further exclaimed that the technological environment has been rapidly advancing, Under Armour has been using it to their advantage and giving tough competition to other players in the industry with its Hi-tech induced materials that go into the making of its sport’s wear and shoes. Initially. Under Armour entered the shoe wear market by introducing Cleats, which were more beneficial for athletes, in the football industry more athletic wear brands have introduced similar products such as Nike Mecurials, however Under Armour had the first mover advantage and made its name in the market.