Business Project
With only ten years of public recognition, Under Armour is causing ripples in the apparel industry and fiercely competing with the major players of clothing in the sporting world. What started as a clothing provider for the Maryland football team has now grown to an internationally recognized brand. Through intense dedication to design and pursuit of innovation, Under Armour produces impressive footwear, apparel, and accessories for male and female athletes. The organization is fast growing, and it is encroaching different geographical regions, the most notable being America, Europe, and Africa. The company is now famous and popular for its revolutionary clothing that keeps athletes cool, light and dry.
Market share and growth rate are among the critical components used in the rational to select a competitor. Over the years, Nike has registered impressive records concerning market shares and growth rate. However, given the continuous innovation in Under Armour, the rate of growth is high such that the company is endearing to catch up with the largest retailer in the apparel industry – Nike. In fact, many great business minds pre-empt that the compnenets will surpass those of Nike if the same expansion rate prevails. Since the company was initiated in 1995, it went public in 2005 and this was the time the market share and growth rate started to sprout. The expansion has been exponential causing increment in share price. Therefore, the rational depend on this successful penetration in the American market in terms of market share and growth rate. This means that Under Armour is accessing mature markets with more innovative products bearing premium prices thus displaying the potential of competing with Nike.
How Under Armour Compares with Nike
Under Atmour compares with Nike in regards to shares and expectations in sales. At the end of 2015, Under Armour’s single shares traded for about $80 with an approximate P/E ration of 40. With this record of substantial growth, expectations in Under Armour are high in terms of the additional income stream from more sales. The case is particularly true given the company’s plan to crack the apparel market of outdoor performance. On the other hand, Nike is so far the all-time giant in this industry. Although its shares are always high and growth projections eminence, it may experience a hefty loss given the continuous innovations in Under Armour in a bid to dominate the market share.
The fact is that the market cap of Nike is over five times bigger than that of Under Armour. However, the signals of legitimate rivalry are beckoning since the growth in Under Armour is likened to an explosion. For instance, in 2014, while Nike realized a revenue increase of 15%, Under Armour doubled its income stream. Again, the rate of increase in sales in Nike is about a quarter of that in Under Armour.
Financial Position
Since its entrance into the public domain, its stock has rapidly grown and the current financial postion records a market capitalization of about $ 15 billion, with an annual revenue of around $ 3.6 billion. Footwear is the strongest element driving the financial position. It has shown immense efforts in signing stars to wear its shoe designs in a move to drive up sales. For example, the end of 2014 saw Under Armour signed a deal worth $ 25 million with Andy Murray, a tennis star. The company also attempted to buy Kelvin Durant, a basketball icon, from Nike. Therefore, Under Armour is very ambitious on leveraging opportunities to protect its financial position. The footwear in Under Armour registers over 50% growth every year. The aspect of international sales is no different. While Under Armour bag about 10% of global sales in the industry, the annual rate of growth is virtually 100%.
Indices of Comparison
The indices of comparison narrows down to both male and female apparel. While Nike projects a similar devotion to both male and female apparel in terms of quality, Under Armour’s female clothing does not match that of men. Under Armour was so quick in producing women clothing and footwear that it comprised the quality of the products in the process. The men`s products by far outmatch the female`s accessories. The issue is important since it is a factor of market share, growth and sales. Its existence threaten the progressive trail of the company thus undermining its capacity to fiercely compete with Nike. Under Armour should increase its focus on increasing quantitative and qualitative female clothing and accessories. That way, it will amend the missing links preventing it from becoming an integrated apparel manufacturer. The increase in quality production of female clothing will affirm that the events of the sub-standard women’s products were nothing but just a mistake. As such, this will retain its reputation and boost its substantial growth and innovation. Again, with the rising concerns of gender equality, it is only right for the company to establish both male and female apparels in equal measures. Consequently, Under Armour will acquire a wholesome model thus supplementing its competency in the available sets of competition.
The indices have introduced a stiff competition in North America and it is clear that Adidas, the second largest retailer in the apparel industry, is struggling to thrive. Hence, Under Armour can replicate the same in various places across the world by increasing the production of women’s apparel to not only protect its success, but also remain as a core competitor with the ability of even overthrowing Nike. With such a whole set of competition, Under Armour can continue to innovate in places where Nike is remarkably performing like in China and Europe. Furthermore, given that the young generation are drawn to smaller and transparent brands, the probability of Under Armour catching up with Nike is relatively high.
Part Two
Tapping into their emotions - Making a successful presentation is one of the challenging tasks because the presenter has to establish a connection with the audience and understand the mood and receptiveness of the audience for every part of the presentation. It has been argued that an effective presentation requires more than content because of establishing an emotional connection with the audience. Tapping into the emotions of the audience can be done through giving of relevant stories and imagery that will enable the audience to remember the presented material.
P.U.N.C.H - The concept of P.U.N.C.H is an important approach when a presenter is establishing a connection with the audience. For instance, it has been argued that a punchy opening is essential in getting the attention of the audience PUNCH stands for Personal, Unexpected, Novel, Challenging, and Humorous. Every good presentation has to possess one of the elements listed in the PUNCH concept. Making a presentation personal entails, a presenter presenting something personal that nearly all audiences can relate to. However, the presenter should avoid long self-introductions, but beginning with a personal story can be effective. The unexpected approach requires the presenter to present or reveal the unexpected, such as saying something that goes against the expectation of the audience. For instance, the presenter can use statistics that are against natural wisdom as a surprise to the audience. The novelty approach requires a presenter to say something novel, such as the findings of a new study, or something that create a strong imagery among the audience.
Challenging requires a presenter to present something that goes against the conventional wisdom or assumptions. Presenting the common knowledge that can be read in books or other literature materials creates boredom, and a presenter needs to ask provocative questions that make the audience think. On the other hand, Humor is imperative in keeping the audience engaged, and the presenter is also able to establish emotional connections.
Advice on Managing Fear - The management of fear is an essential aspect in making effective presentations. One can overcome fear using various approaches that can be explained in other concepts. For instance, when a person spends time alone they achieve a clarity of thought, which is imperative in eroding fears that a presenter might have during the presentation.
Preparing the Day of Presentation - Preparing adequately assists one to understand what they need to focus on and achieve a clarity of thought. Inadequate preparations make the presenter lack the required stamina and lose confidence, which can affect the presentation significantly.
Spending some time alone - This method offers the presenter a chance to reflect on what is all about the presentation and what need to be done. Spending time alone enhances a person’s creativity away from numerous distractions that may make a person indifferent in regard to focus on ad what they need to ignore. Time alone enhance the clarity of thought for the presenter.
Involve Through Participation Additionally, the presenter can establish the approaches that can be used to maintain the audience involved to ensure a connection is established right from when the presentation starts to the end. It has been argued that people learn more through experience of something than reading. Although it is difficult to keep the audience in active physical participation a presenter can use conversational language such that the audience keeps responding to various issues in different ways.
