Under Armour Essays Examples

This is an American leading sports clothing and accessories company. The company was found and established in the year 1996 by Kevin Plank, who was by then 23-years by age and a former captain of a football team of the University known as The University of Maryland. Plank began this business from his grandmother’s basement in the city of Washington D.C. His first sale at the end of the year 1996 was about $17,000 of the total sales (Lussier et al, 2014). He later from his mother’s basement to Baltimore in Maryland. Thereafter, he settled at his current headquarters in the Tide Point in the United States of America.
He was inspired to make T-shirts after he realized that his compression shorts were being worn out during the practices (Lussier et al, 2014). He made T-shirts using a moisture-wicking synthetic fabric. Plank later developed his first prototype of his shirts after graduating from the University of Maryland that he gave to his football teammates in Maryland as well as his friends who participated in National Football League (NFL). The then developed an interest in designing of which he perfected in his skills thus creating new T-shirt that were built from microfibers. This material was best for sports’ wear as it wicked moisture and kept the athletes cool, light and also dry.
The company came to be widely recognized by people all over the United States when it was featured on the front page of USA Today paper. After featuring on the USA Today, he was contracted to supply ten shirts to Georgia Tech by the equipment manager. A major growth and expansion of the company was realized in 1999 when it was contracted by Warner Brothers to outfit two of its upcoming films namely The Replacements and Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday. After that, Plank then sorts to advertise the Under Armour Company by purchasing an ad in the ESPN The Magazine. This ad generated over $750,000 in the total sales. After nine years since the company's establishment, Plank put himself on a payroll. The company then contract as an outfitter of the new XFL football league. This made the company gain more attention as the league was going on and being shown on the National Television (Lussier et al, 2014). The company then launched its first television commercial in 2003 with the motto, “Protect this house.” A first full line full price retail was opened in 2007 and is located in Westfield Annapolis mall in the Annapolis.

The organizational structure of Under Armour Company

The Under Armour Company is made up of a Corporate Governance Committee, which is made up the Board of Directors. This committee has a role in identifying the individuals who can qualify to be included as the members of the Board of Directors. The committee also recommends the Director nominees during the annual meeting of the company’s shareholders and any other candidates during the elections aimed at filling any vacant post of the Board of Directors (Lussier et al, 2014). Furthermore, the Committee also has a role in developing and recommending to the Board of Directors some of the corporate governing principles that are applicable to the company. Moreover, the Committee oversees and evaluates the Board and its management.

Company’s products and services

The company produces TurfGear, StreetGear and AllseasonGear as it Forefront products. The company started producing Women’s Performance Gear products in the year 2003. The company also provides ColdGear outfits called the Infrared. These were released in 2013. The company has also gone further to produce scent control outfits. These outfits are sold both nationally and internationally.

Reference

Lussier, R. N., & Kimball, D. C. (2014). Applied sport management skills.