Under Armour

Under Armour, Inc. is an American company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland with additional offices located in Amsterdam.

History

Under Armour was founded in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a then 23-year-old former special teams captain of the University of Maryland football team. Plank initially began the business from his grandmother's basement in Washington, D.C. He spent his time traveling up and down the East Coast with nothing but apparel in the trunk of his car. His first team sale came at the end of 1996 with a $17,000 sale. From his grandmother's basement, Plank moved to Baltimore. After a few moves in the city he landed at his current headquarters in Tide Point.

As a fullback at the University of Maryland, Plank got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts worn under his jersey; however, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. After graduating from the University of Maryland, Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. Plank soon perfected the design creating a new T-shirt built from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept athletes cool, dry, and light.Plank's footsteps with their own moisture-wicking apparel. Plank opted to use the British spelling "armour" in the company name because the toll-free vanity number was still available for that version.^[9]

positive reviews from players, word began to spread and orders began to increase.That same year, Under Armour launched with several new apparel lines including ColdGear, TurfGear, AllseasonGear, and StreetGear.By the end of 1996, Under Armour had sold 500 Under Armour HeatGear shirts, generating $17,000 for the company.In 1997, Plank had $100,000 in orders to fill and found a factory in Ohio to make the shirts.

Products

Products manufactured by Under Armour include athletic shoes,

t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, pants, leggings, shorts and accessories such as bags, gloves, caps and protective gear.

Under Armour also produces American football, basketball and soccer uniforms, among other sports.

Early products

An Under Armour Cap

Under Armour outlet store in Henry County, Georgia

The expansion of Under Armour's product lines, such as TurfGear, AllseasonGear, and StreetGear put Under Armour at the forefront of the emerging performance apparel industry.^[5] In 2003, Under Armour launched their Women's Performance Gear product line.

Demography

Of Under Armour's current consumer base, 53% of Under Armour's customers are male and 47% of customers are female. Over 36% of customers have graduated from college, the majority of Under Armour's customers fall within the age range of 25-34, with the smallest customer base consisting of those aged 65+. 49.9% of Under Armour's customers have a household income ranging from $75,000 to $149,000 (Gfk Mediamark Research & Intelligence, 2015).

Attribute	Consumers w/attribute (%)	Attribute	Consumers w/attribute (%)
Men	53	Adults 18-49	75.4
Women	47	Adults 25-54	67.6
Educ: graduated College plus	36.5	HHI: $150,000+	17.1
Educ: attended College	26.3	HHI: $75,000-$149,999	49.9
Educ: graduated HS	22.4	HHI: $60,000-$74,999	8.2
Educ: did not graduate HS	4.8	HHI: $50,000-$59,999	7.1
Educ: post graduate	11.1	HHI: $40,000-$49,999	1.9
Educ: no college	27.1	HHI: $30,000-$39,999	3.7
Age: 18-24	17.1	HHI: $20,000-$29,999	3.2
Age:25-34	30.6	HHI: <$20,000	8.9
Age:35-44	17	Census Region: North East	16.9
Age: 45-54	20.8	Census Region: South	50.4
Age: 55-64	11.2	Census Region: Midwest	19.5
Age: 65+	4.1	Census Region: West	13.2
Adults 18-34	47.7