Steph Curry launches sportswear line

Under Armour, established in 1996 as a manufacturer of high-tech athletic gear, was at its peak sometime in 2015 when it overtook Adidas as the second-biggest selling sports apparel company in the US behind Nike. With the rising sales, marketing executives then labeled the company as the next Nike.

Their reported annual revenue of $5.3 billion has since stalled. Along with Adidas, Puma and New Balance, they are now competing to get a share of the basketball sneaker and lifestyle market which is dominated by Nike and its subsidiaries Jordan and Converse with more than $37 billion revenues annually.

Hoping to get out of the sales slump, the company pinned their fortunes on their biggest superstar endorser Stephen Curry when they launched the Curry Brand last Tuesday, Dec. 1. It features a mix of footwear and apparel not only for basketball but also in golf and running. Like Nike’s Jordan Brand, the line allows Curry to have his own logo and create his lineup of Curry athletes, which is on their long-term plan.

With their own version of the 4Ps – people, programs, products and places, a significant part from the sale of the brand will be invested towards lower income communities with emphasis on youth sports and improvement of playing courts and fields for them to have safe places to play.  

Using the Curry Brand, it intends to build at least 20 places for the kids to play and subsidize programs to recruit and train youth coaches. About 25 percent of kids aged six to 18 growing up in under-privileged households participate in organized sports, and they are more likely to quit sports because of financial reasons.

In a statement, Curry said, “Play is a fundamental part of childhood and is critical to development. So much of who I am as a person and a leader today is because of playing sports as a kid. I learned the value of hard work, resilience, teamwork, communication, time management. Sports teach young athletes so many critical life skills, which is why I’m passionate about making sure everyone has access to these opportunities.”

With its community-oriented thrust, Under Armour hopes to have a new start in the sports apparel market.

Other high-profile UA endorsers are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, NFL’s Tom Brady, golf’s Jordan Spieth, MLB’s Bryce Harper, swimming’s Michael Phelps, NBA’s Mo Bamba, Joel Embiid, Patty Mills, Emmaneul Mudiay and Steph’s younger brother Seth, skiing’s Lindsey Vonn, Brazilian super model Gisele Bundchen and ballerina Misty Copeland, among others./PN