Under Armour hates brunch... Not really (but kind of). The house-protecting brand has decided to commit to what it does best: "Technical Apparel." Under Armour is doubling down on non-casual gear and its leaders made it clear on CNBC:
- CEO/Baltimore-legend Kevin Plank: "It's all performance."
- COO: Under Armour is "becoming a louder brand." Point taken.
This is purely anti-Lulu... On our Snacks team's unofficial "apparel spectrum," here's where Under Armour falls:
- "Leisure" (one extreme): Chill apparel brands from Vans to Sperry. Nothing athletic about it. Under Armour has no interest.
- "Athleisure" (the middle): The $350B global market is dabbled in by Nike, but dominated by Lululemon. Under Armour doesn't want to fight for market share from the existing leaders.
- "Technical Performance Apparel" (the other extreme): Under Armour wants to own this — the more high-performing and intense it gets, the more UA separates itself from Nike, Outdoor Voices...and Lulu.
But UA does love Lulu's brand moves... Under Armour also announced it's doubling its physical stores to 2.5K by 2023 — and they won't discount. Currently, a shocking 90% of its locations are outlet stores. Under Armour is jealous that Lulu controls its own locations — that lets it maintain a full-price, discount-free, premium brand status.
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