New UA Wireless Flash headphones boost your run with Storm Proof tech and Bionic Hearing. Available at JBL.com and UnderArmour.com on January 8, 2019.
Source: Introducing UA Wireless Flash Headphones
I typically write an analysis from one side of the discussion. I’m writing this by arguing against, but I’m supplying a refutation at the end under “The Reality”. Let me know if you prefer this writing format.
During Under Armour’s Investment Day, I stated that the brand underwhelmed, but I also loved the idea of concentrating on the focused performer. In my mind reaching the athlete is definitely central to UA’s ability to also play in the athletic casual area. The problem is Under Armour tends to lack focus. Just when I think the company is turning the corner, they become laser focused on small areas that distract from the primary goal, sell freaking sneakers and clothes.
The brand has been involved in wearables for a while. They’ve been dipping their feet in the water, just the toe actually, and diving in head first. From their Rock inspired on ear headphones to their latest dive into the water, the wireless earbuds pictured above the company is still all in on their connected HOVR running shoe. Here are the problems:
- Connected Fitness isn’t as valuable as the brand thinks.
- Unless Under Armour assumes that they have a strong grasp on the buyers within their digital ecosystem the 169.00 price point is outrageous. It doesn’t matter that the earbuds come with a free 29 dollar Map My Run membership.
Is that clear? No? Okay, let me simplify things… I’m in the middle of writing a book on the disruption by third party to brands. A part of that discussion is the willful giving of data away to Amazon via Brand Registry. Under Armour has been giving Amazon information on its sales because the brand has a detailed brand registry on the biggest and best e-commerce platform in the world. This means that if Under Armour is selling a considerable amount of this new headphone, Amazon will almost certainly undercut the company in some way.
Here is a picture of a page on Amazon with waterproof earbuds:
Why am I sharing this? In the picture above the customer has countless options to choose at under 60 dollars. Almost anytime the customer searches on Amazon they buy the product with the most reviews. The logical response to this is that UA is just releasing this product, give it time. When sportswear companies see opportunity in wearable tech the immediate reflection should be to this moment by the big dog of the sports industry:
Nike News – Apple & Nike Launch the Perfect Running Partner, Apple Watch Nike+
Nike made a watch. Nike stopped making watches and partnered with Apple. Apple dominates wearables. With their new Airpods, they are dominating sound and Beats (Although pretty crappy soundwise) is branded about as good as any headphone Under Armour can make. I don’t have access to Under Armour’s e-commerce data, but I can do a quick Amazon search on their Under Armour Wireless over ear headphones and find that the company UA works with to produce their branded earphones (JBL) is selling more headphones and they are directly compared to the brand on Amazon:
Look at the price of the two Under Armour headphones, 199.99 compared to JBL, who makes UA’s headphones, at 79.99. Note that JBL has 386 reviews and UA with two colors has a combined 21. Now, remember that I am keenly aware of reviews on Amazon and I typically place reviews at 10% of the purchases made. If that’s true why would UA pursue a path that takes away man hours and investment into more marketing of athletes and products? It could be that this is simply a branded marketing tactic meaning UA is licensing their name to JBL which doesn’t cost anything at all, but honestly if this is the case, that’s worse.
Under Armour has their Focused Performer in their sites, but they don’t have the focus to nail down a segment. A distracted strategy is no strategy at all.
The Reality: As of today Jan 20th, the headphones were dropped on UA and JBL, UA has one review and JBL has 5. In all fairness cobranded products aren’t bad. JBL is going to make headphones anyway. Working with Under Armour allows JBL to reach the athletic market that browses their website. Under Armour is probably earning revenue in the partnership without any risk of entering the wearable tech business. This partnership is solid and actually a very smart play by JBL and Under Armour. Brand partnerships are required to overcome the product search influence and dominance of Amazon.