Under Armour Makes Its Play As USWNT Set For World Cup Kick Off

As the all-conquering U.S. women’s national soccer team prepares to defend its trophy in Australia and New Zealand starting Saturday, sportswear brand Under Armour
UAA
has made its own play for the booming sport.

While Under Armour might still be viewed as a challenger sportswear brand to the likes of Oregon-based giant Nike
NKE
and Germany’s Adidas, it has almost 30 years of trading under its belt.

And this month it revealed two new products designed for women heading into this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, including its first football shoe designed specifically for female feet.

It also opened an Oxford Street, London flagship store this week and just a few days ago appointed a new communications chief as expansion plans ramp up.

The new Women’s UA Magnetico Elite 3 FG soccer boots was released Monday and has been designed to give female soccer players better support and control, following feedback from its female athletes and studies of their biomechanics.

The boots have been adapted to a female athlete’s heel and forefoot, an area where women’s feet differ most from men’s according to Under Armour, while the upper adapts and flexes to the foot’s shape and movements.

In addition, Under Armour also unveiled the HeatGear Armour High Sports Bra, designed for running, court sports and field sports.

At the online press launch, Paul Nugent, SVP global brand marketing at Under Armour, said: “With nine professional female footballers on our roster, we are dedicated to supporting them to be the best they can be, both on and off the pitch.”

Under Armour Flagship Stores

While its immediate aspirations may be focused on the twin FIFA World Cup hosting countries of Australia and New Zealand, Under Armour has also been busy on the other wise of the world.

This week it opened the doors to its newest U.K. store on 242-248 Oxford Street, London as part of a spate of store openings in the U.K., as it looks to expand its store footprint across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

UA Oxford Street houses the retailer’s latest performance products across co-gender training and running collections and is the latest British opening after debuting stores at the recently opened Battersea Power Station, Liverpool One shopping centre and Westfield’s Stratford City, London.

While the sportwear giant has sold through retail partners in Europe for more than a decade, like some of its rivals it is keen to develop its own direct-to-consumer channels and Under Armour EMEA managing director Kara Trent said earlier this year that expansion was a key priority.

The brand was founded back in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, who wanted to create high performance gear, engineered to keep athletes cool, dry, and light throughout the course of a game, practice, or workout.

And it has been growing at pace, reporting a revenue increase of 8% to $1.4 billion in its fiscal Q4, which ended on March 31. Net income was $170.5 million, a 12.2% jump year-over-year. The brand is set to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings on August 8.

However, beyond its new U.K. stores it only has one owned store in Western Europe, in Amsterdam, where its EMEA HQ is also based.

News Comms Head Joins

In the U.S. Under Armour has also hired Amanda Miller as chief communications officer, effective July 24.

Miller will manage all of the sportswear company’s global communications, reporting to CEO Stephanie Linnartz, who in February became Under Armour’s first female boss.

“Communication is a critical part of how we tell our story to our athletes, consumers, teammates and other stakeholders,” Under Armour said in a statement.

Miller was VP of corporate affairs at PayPal
PYPL
and prior to her eight years at PayPal, she held senior communications roles at eBay and before that was a VP at Nike Communications.

She no doubt will be hoping that America’s soccer team delivers the first good news for its soccer boot and kicks off the next stage of growth.