Under Armour

Under Armour

Kevin Plank launched Under Armour in 1996 as a former University of Maryland football player who wanted a compression shirt that wicked sweat and kept athletes dry. He operated out of his grandmother's basement in Washington, D.C., selling shirts from the trunk of his car before securing his first major team deal with Georgia Tech. The company went public on the NYSE in 2005 and grew revenues from $115M to over $4.8B in a decade, driven by a hard-charging performance-athlete identity and aggressive endorsements from stars like Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, and Jordan Spieth. The firm's core business spans performance apparel, footwear, and accessories across running, training, basketball, and golf categories. Under Armour also operates a direct-to-consumer channel including branded retail stores and a digital commerce platform. A defining pivot came through acquisitions: the 2015 purchases of MyFitnessPal for $475M and Endomondo for $85M, plus the 2013 acquisition of MapMyFitness, created a 200-million-user digital community. The connected fitness strategy placed Under Armour at the intersection of apparel and health data. Footwear, led by Stephen Curry's signature basketball line, represented approximately 25% of revenue in peak years. Under Armour employs roughly 6,600 people globally and reports through three operating segments: North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, with distribution in over 60 countries. Stephanie Linnartz took over as President and CEO in February 2023, succeeding Patrik Frisk after a two-year CEO search, bringing Marriott International digital-transformation experience to the role. Kevin Plank returned as Executive Chair in the same transition. The company exited the MyFitnessPal platform by selling it to Francisco Partners for $345M in November 2020, pivoting from an owned digital health ecosystem toward a partnership model. Under Armour remains one of the few founder-led public sportswear companies, with Kevin Plank controlling approximately 65% of voting power through a dual-class share structure. This governance arrangement gives Plank unilateral control over board composition and strategic direction despite holding a minority economic interest. The company's structural differentiator is its insistence on maintaining founder control alongside public-market accountability, creating a hybrid posture that resembles a family-controlled enterprise more than a conventional public apparel firm. This concentration of voting authority has drawn periodic scrutiny from governance advisory firms while preserving the brand's aggressive performance-marketing DNA through multiple CEO transitions.