Business Characteristics of Under Armour Inc - Case Study Example

Under Armour Under Armour Inc has it’s headquarter at Baltimore, Maryland. The company was founded in1996by a man known as Kevin Plank. At the age of twenty three, Plank saw his company rise from a small business in Washington to the present huge company with it’s headquartering in Baltimore. It is not an easy task creating something out of nothing and In spite of the fact that the road to his success was not smooth, Plank was focused in creating something that would give him comfort. Furthermore, he needed something that would save his time while changing to prepare for his activities of the day. This led him to design a shirt that had the unique ability of absorbing sweat as this is the major cause of discomfort that consumes a lot of time, in that, to attend other functions, one has to rush home and change clothes or carry clothes along to change. This according to plank was time wastage and cumbersome hence the maximum sweat absorbing shirt. The initial first bunch that he made was presented as a gift to his team members. The fire fueling his dream of creating a t-shirt that kept sports men clean, while playing and training did not stop until he made a brand name for his product (Hitt 381). The company’s first major break came when it was contracted to provide Under Armor garments for two films under the production of the Warner brothers. This turned out to be a success because Plank at that time marketed the produced garments by placing an ad which generated to him a large sum of revenue which was later injected back into the business for expansion purposes. Later, sports like football used the company in designing their outfits which had the company’s label and this played a significant role in advertising the company to both local and international markets. In addition, the company was vigorous in its campaigns to advertise their products through such channels like the media making it to open numerous retail stores in different states around the country. Finally, plank had succeeded and the company added many other types of equipment to their only product and trademark product the sweat absorbing shirt. The major products that the company deals with involve sports clothing, footwear, sporting equipments and sporting accessories. The company’s mission statement is “To Make All Athletes Better through Passion, Design and the Relentless Pursuit of Innovation”. This statement also is in line with planks desire and passion to make sportsmen clean and the passion he had as a player to better his team mates. The company has also integrated four main values which are modernization, Inspiration, dependability and truthfulness in their day to day operations and interactions with customers. This has enabled it to significantly pool in customers from all corners of the world thus increasing their profit margins. The company has applied basic business strategies in expanding their growth to different cities and towns around the world. They have focused in offering unique products which are different from those of their competitors (Rainer 51). In addition, the products are designed to exude nothing but quality which is a major concern to customers who always want value for their money, besides the aesthetic appeal readily cognizable. Secondly, the company has put unyielding focus on innovation which grants them the needed competitive edge in creating new products that whose uniqueness reverberates well with the special needs of the target market. Moreover, the new products innovated always take into utmost consideration quality standards; thereby making them to be of class, to the various respective customers. The company organizational structure is divided into key areas of management which include functional areas, assortment, leadership, economic and teams section. According to Nyse Magazine 2000, The CEO is at the top of the organizational chart, and below, is found the CEO to the different branches located in different parts of the continent. Under the CEO’s, tasked with managing different branches in different countries are the company’s team of marketing managers, human resource managers, financial managers, production managers and sales mangers. However, the number of individuals placed to manage the respective departments differs by the demand of the products produced in each country (Griffi 81). The objective of the management in the company is to make decisions as with regard to the type of products being produced and how. They are the ones to analyze and criticize the products being manufactured before being allowed into the market. They are also tasked with the responsibility of researching on better ways through which the company may grow. Thirdly, the management provides knowledge in the form of skills and know-how to the different processes that are being operated in the company. The current marketing plan being undertaken by the company is that they are looking for better ways of lowering their costs to increase their profits in both local and international markets. Secondly, they are looking for avenues where they can obtain cheap labor thus, have resorted to manufacture their products in countries like China where labor costs is considered to be cheaper than in the United States. Lastly, they are also sourcing out their raw materials from different corners of the world such as Beijing, therefore helping them in selling their products at affordable prices. The company treats their employees in descent and respectful ways and this is evident in the good wages, which are structured to correlate with the task and the financial gains. They acknowledge that their employees are their key drivers to success and the ongoing expansion process. In addition, the company gives equal opportunities to their employees for growth and advancement, and this is also evident in the different positions occupied by different individuals. Further, good employees are included in the expansion plans of the company as they are recruited indifferent managerial positions to monitor the progress of the company in new countries. The company’s financial growth is also measured by the number of employers and profit margins which the company projects annually to increase by a given percentage. In order for the company to keep on expanding, the company should focus on advertising the premiere brand names that most of their customers such as the athletes and footballers, are planning to have as their logo. This will increase their profits as they will have addressed the crucial taste issues of their customers. In addition, they should give back to the society by sponsoring various teams thus promoting their brand name in the different countries they expect to introduce their new products as well as promoting their overall corporate image. This will assist towards countering the already existing competition in the market and in the process compete favorably with other companies offering similar products (Rich 279). Secondly, the company should always feature the logo or the flag used by the targeted audiences in their products. This will promote the sales as many times, customers always want to feel connected to the products that they purchase. An example is that if the company is producing products in China, they should use the Chinese flags to make their Chinese customers feel that indeed the products they are purchasing is theirs. Thirdly, the company should focus in employing highly trained employees and management who can design products according to the customer’s taste and preferences. This entails having a strong customer service culture to woe customers into coming back to purchase other products from them. Employees’ effort is key to determining a company’s productivity. This means that when employees are not skilled or knowledgeable in the areas of expertise, the result is that there will be lack of efficiency and productivity within the different departments and processes of the company. Works Cited Buss, Terry F, and F S. Redburn. Shutdown at Youngstown: Public Policy for Mass Unemployment. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1982. Print. Galada, Lee. A World of Difference. Uniontown, OH: Fresh Voices Books, 2005. Print. Griffin, Ricky W. Fundamentals of Management: Core Concepts and Applications. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print. Hitt, Michael A, Robert E. Hoskisson, and R D. Ireland. Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalization : Cases. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Plunketts Companion to the Almanac of American Employers 2008: Mid-size Firms 2008. Plunkett Research Ltd, 2008. Print. Rich, Jay S. Cornerstones of Financial & Managerial Accounting: Current Trends Update. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Rainer, R K, and Casey G. Cegielski. Introduction to Information Systems. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2011. Print. "Under Armour, Inc. Files SEC Form 4, Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership of Securities (Feb. 25, 2014)." Economics Week 14 Mar. 2014: "Under Armour Launches Groundbreaking Performance Cotton Collection.." Marketing Weekly News 12 Feb. 2011: 1-30. Print. Warren, Carl S, James M. Reeve, Jonathan E. Duchac, and Carl S. Warren. Financial and Managerial Accounting. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Read More