Word: armour
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Throughout Under Armour's history, Plank has relished fighting the doubters. It's in his DNA: when describing his playing style at Maryland, the 5-ft. 11-in., 210-lb. (1.8 m, 95 kg) walk-on says, "I put my head down and hit you. That was my gig." He still has a locker-room mouth--"We give a s___ about what we do every day"--and rarely minces words. "What makes Under Armour special is the fact that we don't make a bunch of crap for the mass market," he says...
...strategist, though, Plank is more brains than brash. Many analysts admire his approach to expanding his brand. Under Armour could have jumped right into one of the two biggest sports-footwear categories--running and basketball--to try to steal share from Nike, Adidas and other Bigfeet. Instead, the company chose a more disciplined approach. Under Armour tested the footwear landscape about two years ago, when it started making American-football cleats. Selling soccer shoes against Adidas and Nike would have been suicidal. Football is a small, specialized market--about $250 million in the U.S. "Our No. 1 goal was authenticating...
Plus, as Under Armour moves beyond cleats to sneakers with broader appeal, it is picking an ideal entry point: the training-shoe market is ripe for a revival. Nike popularized cross-trainers in the late '80s and early '90s with its famous "Bo Knows" campaign, which depicted the multisport star Bo Jackson playing hoops, football and tennis and weight-lifting in his Nikes. Since that heyday, the sporting life has become more specialized but training more diverse...
...Under Armour sees today's young, hyperfocused athletes as "95-5" players, who spend 5% of their time on the playing field of their sport and 95% training for that sport--either by pounding weights, sprinting or doing more high-tech plyometrics, which involves a lot of leaping and side-to-side movements. The company's pitch: During that 95% training time, don't use some dumb running shoe; wear our Prototype. The company is offering three types of sneakers: the Speed Trainer is the lightest, most breathable shoe, designed for athletes who spend the bulk of their time trying...
Then there's the Evade sneaker for jocks who make more lateral moves in their drills. "The shoe becomes a piece of equipment," insists Raphael Peck, Under Armour's senior vice president and shoe guru. But will young athletes really spend $100 for a shoe to lift weights in? "They're spending $40 on a T shirt," quips Plank, nodding to the premium price that consumers are paying for Under Armour's sweat-sopping gear...