Word: planked
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...equally muscular business: over the past five years, the company's comfy, moisture-wicking shirts and shorts have helped it grow at a blistering 65% annual rate. Under Armour, which had $640 million in sales over the past year, had been scoring on the stock market too, making Plank's shares worth some $1 billion at the peak. But as Plank prepares to move the Under Armour brand out of its comfort zone into the cutthroat, $18.3 billion athletic-footwear market, he is exposing Under Armour's house to a tornado...
...would Under Armour risk the punishment? The company's apparel business is solid--up 37% in 2007--so Under Armour certainly doesn't need to jump into a new category to grow. "Maybe I'm a little naive as we approach the footwear market," says Plank, a former University of Maryland football player who started the company in his grandmother's basement more than a decade ago. "Maybe we don't recognize the fact that we're walking on a tightrope on the 55th floor. But the fact of the matter is, it feels right. And that's what brands...
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...
...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...