Under Armour's quest to master technology

           Under Armour, a major sports apparel company, makes the majority of its profits through its apparel, yet the company’s focus in 2016 is on technology. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank sees technology as the company’s newest form of business, one that can help create even more success for the company and they have not been shy about spending to acquire it. “Since 2013, Under Armour has spent $710 million to acquire health tracking apps MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal and Endomondo”.  Not only this but the company has continued to develop its own technology to continue its growth.

            A major point in the article is that Under Armour is not the first sports apparel company to break into the technology industry; in fact they are late to the party. Companies such as Nike and Addidas have been investing in new technology for years, with Nike creating a shoe sensor that connects to the athletes phone and Addidas launched a line of trackers and a smart watch. It is clear that Under Armour is behind in incorporating technology into its sports apparel but its recent rise in notoriety in the U.S. will help even things out when they do finally launch there new technology. Based apparel.

            Another key point made is that Under Armour does not only need to compete with other apparel companies but other technology companies including Apple and Google as well. These companies have launched their own fitness monitoring technology such as wearable wristwatches that display different aspects of daily physical activity. This could pose an issue for Under Armour because they are going against companies who work exclusively in creating new technology and have the advantage in these types of products.

            A third important point made is Under Amour’s desire to have technology be a major part of there company’s future. Nike and Addidas have utilized new technology based apparel as side projects, but Under Armour wants technology to be a focus of the company. “Plank is very clear that these new technology products aren’t just side projects for the company”. This desire to create a focus on technology will ultimately help to separate Under Armour from its competition once they have finalized these projects.

            While the article is very insightful there are some things that are missing that would help to create a better understanding of what exactly Under Armour hopes to accomplish with its new technology. The first thing that was overlooked where this technology will be utilized. It could be in a shoe like Nike has or in a separate wearable devise like the Fitbit or apple watch. Another thing that was overlooked was weather or not Under Armour will pear up with a major technology company similar to how Nike and Apple have teamed up to create an app on iPhones that connects to Nike shoes. Finally the article fails to inform readers when this new technology will be released, making it hard to understand when Under Armour will be a player in this industry.

Source: http://fortune.com/2016/02/05/under-armour-tech-company/