Prepare for something GOOD.
To celebrate the greatest 3pt shooter of all time, we are dropping something GOOD.
Drops Tuesday 12/21 8pm EST
Source: Coming Soon
I was on a call recently with a group asking if Under Armour was for real. The company used the issues around Covid and supply chain to clear inventory and to increase margins. Their share price reflects a new found faith in the brand, but it’s a far cry from the 40/share three years ago. As Kevin Plank has stepped away and new leadership continues to make adjustments, Under Armour seems to have found a better approach to their business. When I was asked if they are for real, I answered that they are in a very good position to continue fixing their problems, but they have yet to build a signature product that inspired engagement beyond the crowd that currently rocks with Under Armour. HOVR cushioning is a signature tech, but the limited distribution and design hasn’t quite moved to a point of being mainstream in casual and athletic wear, and it doesn’t have to be. If UA stays authentic and about the athlete, it can become “for real”. Although Under Armour is a pot of water on the stove set to simmer. There are other settings available, and there have been signs that they are in the kitchen preparing to change from simmering to warm, but they tend to respond as opposed to taking a proactive approach to marketing and product. Even when they nail a product, like the UA HOVR Summit FT:
A Transitional Lesson and a Powerful Shift in the UA HOVR Summit Fat Tire
The energy around the product is one of fear, which leads to a product that has considerable potential (simmering water) sitting on the stove and never really finding the energy to transition to kinetic energy or boiling water, or even lukewarm water. When the team on the conference call asked if I thought Under Armour could cross that chasm, I couldn’t answer with an affirmative, but I didn’t add anything negative… until today. I saw Curry’s breaking of the 3 point record as a transformative moment for Under Armour. When you combine this moment with Coach Deion Sanders’ leadership at Jackson State University and the fact that he nabbed the number one football recruit in the country from a power 5 conference to an Under Armour sponsored HBCU, I said that the week Under Armour just had could be a turning point. Instead, Under Armour did what Under Armour does, they reacted. When Nike acquired RTFKT a company founded in 2020 that is a leader in the NFT space, I stated that every brand would incorrectly copy Nike.
How Nike’s Acquisition of RTFKT Highlights Hypocrisy in Their Pledge to Reduce Carbon Emissions
I wished like hell that they wouldn’t, but less than 24 hours later adidas launched one of the biggest rollout of NFTs of any brand. I explained why adidas doing this was bad. The more I read about NFTs, I realized how bad they are for the environment. Here was Nike leaning into the NFT space and basically wiping out their sustainability claims in their Move to Zero and claims to be carbon neutral by 2025. adidas followed up by rolling out 30,000 NFTs which create the equivalent of a gas powered car driving 15 million miles in one day. adidas had recently announced a three pronged strategy to do better for the environment, and they had just released a sneaker with Allbirds with the lowest carbon footprint of any running shoe. In my head I’m screaming like Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank, “Stop the madness!” I’m also realizing that the brand captured 22 million in sales on those 30,000 NFTs in one day which means there is no way in hell any of these brands will stop.
Sneaker brands should not be in the NFT space at all, and I know that ASICS was the leader, but Nike’s acquisition was the fuel in an arms race to destroy the environment even more than the microplastics used in sneaker development. When that team asked me if Under Armour was for real, one of my responses was, “If they are smart they will tout their unwillingness to move towards NFTs and the Metaverse.” I said they should bring me in and let me train the copy team to write and develop marketing materials focused on better methods of make and marketing around reducing their carbon footprint. I said, at least they aren’t diving into the Metaverse which could bring negative attention if people begin to understand how bad mining crypto and NFTs are for the environment, since Under Armour is the only brand that hasn’t really focused on sustainability. Not two days later I find that instead of UA doing a collab with UNLESS Collective for a biodegradable hoodie, or tee, celebrating Steph Curry’s accomplishment, or UA pulling together the Curry 1 Dub colorway with the Curry 9 for a DMP styled Jordan pack for Curry (which should have already been in the works last year), Under Armour is asking people to get a digital MetaMask Wallet to prepare for something special.
If those analysts called today, I would tell them Under Armour can’t get out of its own way. They are insistent upon riding waves instead of making small incremental better decisions. Less than two months ago Under Armour basketball discovered a group of hoopers in Baltimore. The diverse group of ballers, ages ranged from teens to their 60s. Their backgrounds spread across the globe from Africa to the Philippines. They found those basketball players and delivered the men and women sneakers. They didn’t write about it or share the story. It was quiet, beautiful work that wouldn’t help the brand in a profound way, but it was honest. I was hopeful for UA. Now, I’m just shaking my f–king head. A brand that hasn’t really talked about their environmental approach, is following the crowd after one of the biggest weeks in sports history. The oven is off. The water was poured out and the kitchen is closed.
