Under Armour Mission Statement Explained

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Any Given Sunday is one of the best sports movies ever made. It is also the take-off point for one of the top sports brands.

Before the movie came out, Under Armour was a small company known for moisture-absorbing t-shirts that enabled the athlete to stay dry, but today it is one of the most famous sports apparel, footwear, and accessories manufacturers. Its current mission statement defines Under Armour’s purpose as:

‘To make all athletes better through science, passion, and the relentless pursuit of innovation.’ The statement suggests that the company’s focus is still on developing apparel and footwear that allows professional athletes or people who do sports for fun to give their best during every performance.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at all the ideas and messages the Under Armour mission statement embodies and establish how they guide the company’s position in the market.

Name  Under Armour Inc.
Founded  September 25, 1996
Headquarters  Baltimore, Maryland
Industry  Sports equipment, textile
Market cap  4.01 billion

Under Armour Mission Statement – In-Depth Analysis

Under Armour Mission

The company’s first notable sale came months after it was founded when Georgia Tech University ordered ten moisture-wicking t-shirts from the company’s founder Kevin Plank. Several decades later, Under Armour is still among the nation’s most prominent supporters of college sports.

The brand’s mission goes much further than being the college sports outfitter as it currently sponsors hundreds of basketball, rugby, ice hockey, or American football players. Although it started as a sports apparel manufacturer, Under Armour began producing footwear in 2006.

The same year the brand became the NFL’s official footwear supplier and released its first line of performance trainers a year later. Alongside Nike and Adidas, Under Armour is one of the key players in the US and global footwear markets.

Hence, running and basketball shoes are some of the brand’s best-selling products that generate over million dollars of annual revenue.

Pushing The Boundaries of Sportswear

The use of modern materials and the latest technologies are part of the brand’s DNA from the get-going. In the late 1990s, Under Armour attracted attention with its moisture-wicking apparel that other large sports brands soon adopted.

The company continued its tradition of innovation by introducing charged cotton material in 2011, developing the Armour Bra, and creating the Coldgear Infrared insulation system. Most of the brand’s products are made from recyclable materials that leave a minimal ecological footprint.

Moreover, the UA’s 2016 SpeedForm Gemini 2 featured a RecordSensor that gathered data like the covered distance or running time. The company acquired MyFittnessPal, Endomondo, and MapMyRun platforms in 2015, creating one of the world’s largest online fitness communities.

Innovation and pushing the boundaries of sports apparel and footwear are constant themes throughout the brand’s history. The mission statement reflects Under Armor’s dedication to revolutionizing the sporting goods industry.

Passion As a Driving Force

Under Armour

Under Armour generated a billion dollars of annual revenue for the first time just fifteen years after the company was founded. The underlying factor of the company’s swift success was Kevin Plank’s passion and determination to create the best sports apparel and footwear brand in the world.

He assembled a highly motivated team that assisted him in designing running shoes, t-shirts, and sleepwear that changed the industry. In 2022, Under Armour will be one of the most profitable brands in the world, with annual revenue of over 5 billion dollars.

The company has offices worldwide and over 15,000 retail stores in more than forty countries. Plank’s goal is to position Under Armour as the industry’s top brand and challenge its top competitors.

The brand’s passion serves as inspiration for hundreds of athletes it sponsors and millions of fitness, jogging, or hiking enthusiasts. The mission statement puts passion for all types of sports at the center of the company’s purpose.

Helping Athletes Take Their Performances to Another Level

Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Tom Brady, and Dwayne Johnson are some of the most notable athletes associated with the Under Armour brand. Tom Brady partnered with the company to develop sleepwear that speeds up the recovery process after intense training.

Although most NBA players wear Nike, Jordan, and Adidas shoes, Under Armour is slowly establishing itself as one of the league’s premiere brands.

Partnering with Steph Curry in 2013 and releasing more than ten signature shoes of the greatest shooter in basketball history helped promote the brand within the basketball community. UA created the Curry brand in 2020, which generates $44 million per year.

Besides basketball players, UA sponsors MLB superstars like Pete Alonso, Kris Bryant, and Francisco Lindor, along with hundreds of professional gymnasts, boxers, and golf players.

The brand also sponsored the winningest competitive swimmer in Olympics history, Michael Phelps, before he retired in 2016.

Under Armour’s Vision Statement

For the last several decades, the brand’s focus was on the future, as its goal was to innovate and inspire. A sudden change of the company’s course seems unlikely since Under Armour’s top priority has always been to serve and support athletes.

The company’s vision statement is ‘To inspire you with performance solutions you never knew you needed and can’t imagine living without.’

Although it doesn’t include actual steps the brand intends to take to achieve its future goals, the statement suggests that Under Armour plans to remain oriented towards the future of professional and amateur sports.

The statement reveals the brand’s focus areas:

  • Product development
  • Increasing sports engagement
  • Achieving global sustainability

Under Armour’s programs and initiatives are already making an impact on communities worldwide. The brand provides equipment for universities and colleges in the US, while its scholarship programs help students earn a degree.

Providing Inspiration for Record-Breaking Achievements

Some of the world’s leading athletes wore Under Armour products during the defining moments of their careers. So, for instance, Steph Curry wore Curry 4 FloTro during his most recent NBA title run, and Tom Brady wore Under Armour cleats and gloves during the 2018 Super Bowl.

These athletes and UA’s products serve as inspiration for millions of fans worldwide. Extending its product range and signing new athletes to sponsorship deals will be one of the brand’s priorities in the next few years.

Anticipating The Needs of Professional Athletes

Athletes

The brand built its legacy by designing products that dealt with problems that affected the performances of professional athletes.

The vision statement shows that UA intends to continue its work on fabrics and materials that extend the range of movement, preserve energy and shorten the recovery time.

It also reveals the brand’s intention to understand the issues professional athletes are dealing with and search for solutions to these issues. UA’s Flow technology won the 2022 Edison Award in the Performance Based Technology category.

The award will serve as inspiration for the brand to resume inventing technologies that transform professional sports.

Being a Pillar Of Local Communities

UA works with coaches and sports organizations to help young people play sports on the professional level. The brand’s goal is summarized in the following sentence ‘We envision a world in which all youth have access and opportunity to play sport.’

Besides organizing programs aimed at children from low-income communities that provide them with the gear and equipment they need to succeed, UA is also actively engaged in building and renovating sports facilities in schools and impoverished neighborhoods.

The brand encourages its employees to volunteer for up to 40 hours per year, and the company’s goal is to reach a million volunteering hours by 2025.

Impacting The Future Of Sports

Changing the future of sports doesn’t only mean creating revolutionary products that help athletes achieve better results. UA focuses its efforts on making the world a better place by producing apparel and footwear from recyclable materials and minimizing the ecological footprint of its supply chain.

The brand organizes American football, basketball, soccer, and baseball training camps, among others, that help future athletes hone their skills. In doing so, the brand helps create the next generation of superstars.

UA’s Freedom and Power In Pink initiatives provide support for army veterans and women battling breast cancer.

Under Armour’s Core Values

The brand’s purpose and vision reflect its core values, as they embrace the power of equality, dedication to athletes, and the importance of standing together in the face of adversity. These values also serve as the company’s guidelines for its internal and external communications:

  • Act sustainably
  • Stand for equality
  • Love athletes
  • Fight on together
  • Celebrate the wins

Here’s a quick summary of Under Armour’s core values.

Act Sustainably

Sustainably

Treating all customers with respect and caring for the environment is vital for Under Armour’s culture. The brand’s goal is to be part of the solution to the problems that could prevent us from building a better world for posterity.

Love Athletes

The company’s purpose is to serve athletes at all stages of their journeys and give them the tools they need to train, compete and recover. Under Armour utilizes science and innovation to develop products that give athletes the edge over their competitors.

Stand for Equality

Fairness, inclusion, discipline, and equality are some of the values all sports have in common. Under Armour incorporates each of these values into its culture that promotes equality within its workforce and the athletes it promotes.

Fight On Together

The brand fosters unity by encouraging sincere conversations between colleagues and a free flow of ideas. Hence, all team members work on finding the solutions to the problems the company is facing.

Celebrate the Wins

Each accomplishment is utilized as fuel to move forward, but it also improves team chemistry.

Key Takeaways

  • Under Armour’s mission statement resonates with the brand’s target audience
  • The company positions itself as the pillar of the communities it serves by giving everyone a chance to play sports
  • Innovation was and still is an essential part of the brand’s identity
  • The company embraces competitiveness in order to challenge its competitors

FAQs – Under Armour Mission Statement

Question: Does Under Armour have a competitive advantage?

Answer: The willingness to innovate is the company’s most significant competitive advantage over brands like Puma or Reebok.

Question: What is Under Armour’s target audience?

Answer: Children and male or female athletes under the age of thirty are UA’s primary target audience.

Question: Is Under Armour committed to reducing animal cruelty?

Answer: The company doesn’t make fur or angora products. Still, some of its products contain leather or wool.

Question: What is Under Armour’s marketing strategy?

Answer: The value-based strategy model is at the core of the brand’s advertising approach which also aims to create a close-knit community among the brand’s customers.

Question: Where are Under Armour’s products made?

Answer: The company has production facilities in 18 countries, but 68% of its products are made in China, Jordan, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

Other companies with similar values to Under Armour

Although its innovative approach toward sports apparel and footwear makes Under Armour unique, numerous other sports brands strive to provide everyone with equal opportunities to play sports.

Nike and Adidas have made it their mission to promote healthy lifestyles and help athletes perform at the highest level. Here are a few brands with values comparable to UA’s:

  • New Balance: The company’s goal is ‘to put the body in motion with the most advanced footwear technology on the planet.’ Hence, its purpose is similar to UA’s because both brands seek to innovate.
  • Asics: The Japanese brand isn’t oriented toward professional athletes, and instead, it aims to attract sports enthusiasts. Its motto, Sound Mind, Sound Body, speaks to its primary target audience.
  • Nike: The world’s largest sports brand is on a mission to deliver ‘inspiration and innovation‘ to everyone and ‘do everything possible to expand human potential.’

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