Under Armour's Founder Is Back As Ceo. Here's How It Went From Taking On Nike To Searching For Redemption.

The story begins with Kevin Plank, Under Armour's founder and CEO.Plank in 2004 posing with University of Maryland football players.

AP/Nick Wass

A team captain on the University of Maryland football team, Plank wanted to design athletic-wear that could withstand sweat and intense activity.

Source: Bethesda Magazine

Plank founded Under Armour in 1996 and designed the first prototype that year.

Under Armour

It was called "The Shorty" and was tight, soft, and designed as a base layer to wick away sweat to keep athletes dry.

Source: Under Armour, Business Insider

This performance-enhancing goal is still evident in Under Armour's clothing today.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

A 2020 Business Insider visit to Under Armour's brand house in New York City showed a display for the brand's Rush line, which also utilizes special fabric to enhance performance and endurance.

In the company's early days, Plank sold his merchandise from his grandmother's basement in Washington, D.C.

J. Meric/Getty Images

Under Armour got a breakthrough when it made major deals with Georgia Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University.

Source: Sports Illustrated

Eventually, Plank started sending prototypes to contacts in the NFL to spread the word.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Stars like Deion Sanders eventually bought some shirts, The New Yorker reported, and the company made the jump from college to professional.

Source: Forbes, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated

By the early 20 00s, Under Armour was soaring.

REUTERS/ Lucas Jackson

The company was expanding into new merchandise and advertising on television. Sales exceeded $200 million by 2004 and Plank decided to take the company public in 2005. The company raised $157 million in the IPO.

Source: The New Yorker, Marketwatch, Biz Journals

Endorsements and media attention helped the brand solidify among the titans of sport and athletic wear.

Adam Glanzman/Getty

In 2010, the company signed a personal endorsement deal with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Source: Sports Pro Media

In 2011, Under Armour partnered with Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who became one of the company's most prized endorsers.

Grant Halverson / Getty

The partnership was more proof that Under Armour wasn't just a college sports brand – it could supply some of the biggest stars on professional teams.

Source: The New Yorker, Business Insider. CNBC

Under Armour also began to include women in its ads and endorsements, representing a stark change from the company's gruff, tough football beginnings.

Under Armour

In 2014, the company signed Gisele Bundchen, then Tom Brady's wife, and featured ballerina Misty Copeland in an advertisement that went viral.

Source: Forbes, Time

Today, Under Armour has a vast selection of women's clothing.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

The range includes sports bras, leggings, and tank tops.

Under Armour bought MapMyFitness in 2013.

iTunes

The deal, worth $150 million, was followed by Endomondo for $85 million and MyFitnessPal for $475 million in 2015. The acquisitions of the fitness and health-focused apps and technology were part of the company's efforts to expand its digital offerings.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Under Armour experienced an Olympic setback in 2014.

Getty Images

The suits it designed for the US speed skating team were blamed by some for slowing down Olympic skaters in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

That same year, Under Armour became the second best-selling sportswear brand in the US.

BusinessInsider.com

It surpassed Adidas but still trailed Nike by a wide margin.

Source: Business Insider

In 2015, Under Armour had another win when it signed a deal with boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

AP Photo/Lennox McLendon

Ali's name and likeliness appeared on a t-shirt at the start of the partnership, ESPN reported.

Source: ESPN

In 2016, Under Armour introduced the UA SpeedForm Gemini 2 Record Equipped.

Under Amour

The product was its first smart shoe with a built-in sensor to store and track data.

Source: Under Armour

In 2016, it was also announced the company would become the official supplier of uniforms for Major League Baseball.

Getty/Justin Berl

It was Under Armour's first major-league sports deal.

Source: Business Insider

In 2017, the company introduced sleepwear.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

The line was designed to help speed up the body's recovery process.

Source: Under Armour

2017 was a turning point for Under Armour.

Getty/Brad Barket

The company's stock fell more than 40% and it reported its first quarterly loss ever. At least five top executives left the company that year, including footwear chief Peter Ruppe.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Business Insider

It also became clear the company had missed the boat on the athleisure style trend.

FeelGoodLuck/Shutterstock

Plank said that the company needed to "become more fashion."

Earlier that year, Plank upset many customers when he praised President Trump.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In an interview with CNBC, he called Trump "a real asset for the country." The company later clarified the CEO's comments via multiple statements.

Source: Business Insider

Another blow came in 2018, when some athletes at UCLA refused to wear Under Armour's shoes.

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

The collegiate athletes complained that the bottoms were peeling off. Under Armour was the school's official shoe and apparel sponsor, per a $280 million deal in 2016.

Source: Business Insider

Dick's Sporting Goods' CEO called out Under Armour in an earnings call.Under Armour selection at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

The CEO knocked the brand for broadening its distribution of merchandise in multiple new stores, saying the brand had a "significant weakness."

Source: Business Insider

Suddenly, Under Armour was losing appeal among its former customer base.Boxer Carlos Balderas poses for a portrait at the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.

Facebook/Nike

Most shockingly, teens were abandoning the brand in huge numbers, Piper Jaffray's "Taking Stock of Teens" survey showed in April 2018. The survey revealed that Under Armour was the No. 1 most cited "old" brand teens were no longer wearing.

Source: Business Insider

Under Armour saw some brief success in July 2018, when its North American sales jumped for the first time in a year.

Tom Conder/Flickr CC

But the brand still faced issues when it came to differentiating itself from competitors like Adidas and Nike, resulting in a "lack of brand clarity," according to Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and consultant.

Source: Business Insider

The company was still stuck with $1.3 billion worth of unsold inventory.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

To make matters worse, it emerged that executives and employees of Under Armour had been charging the company for visits to strip clubs with athletes or co-workers. This practice was put to an end earlier in 2018, but it didn't help the company's image.

Source: Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal

In September 2018, Under Armour announced a round of layoffs.

Getty/Spencer Platt

The job cuts were meant to help with growth and restructuring. One month later, the company beat profit expectations for its third-quarter earnings.

Source: Markets Insider, Markets Insider

Under Armour announced a turnaround plan in December 2018.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

The plan aimed to increase offerings for women and to focus more on the wants of the consumer. For a while, it seemed to be working.

Source: PR Newswire, Business Insider

Under Armour backed out of its agreement with the MLB in January 2019.American League Gleyber Torres, left, of the New York Yankees, and American League Mookie Betts, of the Boston Red Sox, celebrate a 4-3 victory of the National League in the MLB baseball All-Star Game, Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Associated Press

The deal, to supply the league with baseball uniforms, saved the company a reported $50 million.

Source: Sports Pro Media

The problems for Under Armour got worse in 2019.

Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider

Though inventory numbers were down 26%, the company missed sales expectations for the second quarter of 2019 and shares fell 15% following the announcement. The company also cut its full-year sales guidance for North America as the company continued to struggle in the athletic-wear game.

Source: Markets Insider, CNBC, Under Armour

In September 2019, Under Armour announced Stephanie Pugliese as the new North American president.

Facebook/Under Armour

Then-President and COO Patrik Frisk said that Pugliese's "demonstrated record of leadership and retail expertise significantly strengthens our ability to further amplify Under Armour as the pre-eminent athletic performance brand in our home market."

Source: Under Armour

On October 22, the company announced that Plank would be stepping down from his role as CEO.Founder and CEO of Under Armour Kevin Plank speaks during an IBM keynote address at the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jan. 6, 2016.

Reuters/Steve Marcus

Plank's departure came 23 years after he founded the company. He stayed on to become executive chairman and brand chief of Under Armour.

Shortly after, the company said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice had been investigating its accounting practices since 2017.Boxer Carlos Balderas wearing Under Armour at the US Olympic Committee Media Summit in Beverly Hills, California.

Reuters/AI Project

An Under Armour representative told BI at the time that the company was cooperating with the investigations and stood behind its accounting disclosures.

Source: Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal

A few weeks later, a report said the company had been juicing results to reach sales goals.

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

Former executives told the Wall Street Journal that the company often redirected goods that were intended for factory stores to off-price chains like TJ Maxx near the end of each quarter to hit sales numbers. Under Armour told BI at the time: "We firmly believe that our disclosures and our accounting practices have been entirely appropriate."

Meanwhile, Plank responded to the Journal's report in a note to staff: "Given recent events that have entered the realm of public opinion without full context, it is disappointing to have our integrity and reputation called into question."

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Under Armour had to cut costs as COVID spread in 2020.

Amazon

In May, with the coronavirus negatively impacting sales, the Maryland-based sportswear giant said it was working to extend payment terms for its athletes such as Tom Brady and Steph Curry.

In an email sent to employees on November 15 and obtained by Business Insider, Plank responded to the Journal's report: "Given recent events that have entered the realm of public opinion without full context, it is disappointing to have our integrity and reputation called into question."Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank

Justin Solomon/Getty Images

Source: Business Insider

Under Armour had to cut costs as COVID spread in 2020.

Under Armour

In May, with the coronavirus negatively impacting sales, the Maryland-based sportswear giant said it was working to extend payment terms for its athletes such as Tom Brady and Steph Curry to cut costs.

Source: CNBC

The brand also ended its partnership with UCLA that year.

Harry How/Getty Images

Under Armour walked away from the deal in June 2020. It was just four years into the $280 million deal, which was meant to last 15 years. In a statement to Fox Business at the time, the company cited not receiving marketing benefits " for an extended time period" that the company had paid for.

Source: Fox Business

 

Layoffs hit the company again in late 2020.Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Under Armour laid off 600 people, according to a memo from CEO Patrik Frisk obtained by BI at the time, as it struggled to overcome the effects of the pandemic.

Source: Business Insider

Frisk made a surprise exit as CEO in 2022Frisk in 2020.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

Frisk left in June 2022 after overseeing a restructuring of the company. His departure surprised investors and sent its shares lower on the day it was announced.

Analysts speculated at the time that Frisk hadn't set goals ambitious enough for Plank, who was still involved with the company as executive chair and brand chief.

Stephanie Linnartz became CEO in 2023New Under Armour CEO Stephanie Linnartz

Courtesy Under Armour

Under Armour touted Linnartz's previous experience as president of hotel chain Marriott in its press release announcing her appointment, calling her a "proven growth leader."

Linnartz tried to turn Under Armour into a "sportstyle" brand

Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

As CEO, Linnartz put a next executive team in place and set up a three-year turnaround plan. She also tried to catch Under Armour up to the athleisure trend by focusing the company on "sportstyle," Retail Dive reported in February.

But the strategy didn't bear fruit as Linnartz reached her first anniversary as CEO, as Under Armour's sales continued to slide, according to Retail Dive.

Source: Retail Dive

Under Armour targeted Gen Z athletes with a new sneaker.The Slipspeed

Under Armour

The Slipspeed retailed for $150 when Under Armour released it in 2023. It includes a collapsible heel and can be worn as a slip-on shoe or a performance sneaker.

Under Armour was particularly behind with younger consumers. Camilo Lyon, an analyst at BTIG at the time, wrote in a 2022 research note that the brand was "destined to mediocrity as the current generation of Gen Z'ers have largely concluded which athletic brand is their choice," referring to Nike.

Under Armour announced that Plank would be coming back as CEO from April 2024.CEO Plank.

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Plank's LinkedIn post confirmed the company's announcement on March 13, 2024. In the post, he thanked Linnartz, saying: "Her leadership helped put us on the right track toward winning."

"Success is not a given, and the market has never been as competitive as it is today, but we are ready for the fight and challenge," he wrote.