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UCLA Sues UA

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UA is going down fast. For a while it looked as though they could take over as the big dog.
 
Every shoe company has gone through this at some point. Adidas a few times. Reebok came up as it’s own brand, faltered then was acquired by adidas. Converse? Died, bought and resurrected by Nike - which also almost went down before Jordan. LA Gear was an overnight success and gone nearly as quickly. And, Puma was nearly done as well, but as more of a fashion sport brand in Europe they’ve managed to stay in the running.

Every shoe company markets their technology but they all often get caught between the function and fashion of sport. You lose the marketing game, you lose. You lose the fashion game, you lose.
 
Tetragrammaton Cane said:
Every shoe company has gone through this at some point. Adidas a few times. Reebok came up as it’s own brand, faltered then was acquired by adidas. Converse? Died, bought and resurrected by Nike - which also almost went down before Jordan. LA Gear was an overnight success and gone nearly as quickly. And, Puma was nearly done as well, but as more of a fashion sport brand in Europe they’ve managed to stay in the running.

Every shoe company markets their technology but they all often get caught between the function and fashion of sport. You lose the marketing game, you lose. You lose the fashion game, you lose.
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While this is astute and true, big apparel is also about scale and logistics. Shoes, in particular, are notoriously difficult to get into. UA f'd up because they got too big for their britches. I was on their site the other day and it looks like they're trying to be everything to everyone. That's not really reasonable for a business of their age in their market.

Look at Nike, as an example. They got into the golf market and established themselves as a major player, but are still a very small player in the extreme sports market, which they've been trying to get into for at least 20 years. Besides golf clubs and balls, is Nike equipment really the first place you'd go for a basketball, soccer ball, football, backpack, baseball bat?
 
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CashMoneyCane said:
Look at Nike, as an example. They got into the golf market and established themselves as a major player, but are still a very small player in the extreme sports market, which they've been trying to get into for at least 20 years. Besides golf clubs and balls, is Nike equipment really the first place you'd go for a basketball, soccer ball, football, backpack, baseball bat?
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I have played golf at least once a week for the past 15 years and have never seen one person pull out a Nike golf club. Pretty sure they stopped making those about 5 years ago.
 
MISTER OWL said:
I have played golf at least once a week for the past 15 years and have never seen one person pull out a Nike golf club. Pretty sure they stopped making those about 5 years ago.
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See... there ya go.

Also shows my knowledge of golf. The apparel does well though, right?

I remember back in the day they launched their ACG ("All Conditions Gear") line going after the active outdoor market. Don't think that went anywhere. They also briefly owned then sold Cole Haan, my favorite shoemaker.

Point being, if Nike can't do whatever the f--- they want, Under Armour stood no chance expanding that quickly. The reality is, everyone caught up to their core years ago, which was active baselayers. They weren't doing anything really remarkable or original, just something most people weren't putting in effort to bring to the masses. I'd bet Patagonia's Capilene has been around since before UA was a business. Effectively every major apparel maker now is doing active baselayers in poly/eslastic blends with some type of odor control and moisture wicking.
 
CashMoneyCane said:
See... there ya go.

Also shows my knowledge of golf. The apparel does well though, right?

I remember back in the day they launched their ACG ("All Conditions Gear") line going after the active outdoor market. Don't think that went anywhere. They also briefly owned then sold Cole Haan, my favorite shoemaker.

Point being, if Nike can't do whatever the f--- they want, Under Armour stood no chance expanding that quickly. The reality is, everyone caught up to their core years ago, which was active baselayers. They weren't doing anything really remarkable or original, just something most people weren't putting in effort to bring to the masses. I'd bet Patagonia's Capilene has been around since before UA was a business. Effectively every major apparel maker now doing active baselayers in poly/eslastic blends with some type of odor control and moisture wicking.
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Yes, most golfers I see where Nike polos, myself included. Point taken
 
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CashMoneyCane said:
While this is astute and true, big apparel is also about scale and logistics. Shoes, in particular, are notoriously difficult to get into. UA f'd up because they got too big for their britches. I was on their site the other day and it looks like they're trying to be everything to everyone. That's not really reasonable for a business of their age in their market.

Look at Nike, as an example. They got into the golf market and established themselves as a major player, but are still a very small player in the extreme sports market, which they've been trying to get into for at least 20 years. Besides golf clubs and balls, is Nike equipment really the first place you'd go for a basketball, soccer ball, football, backpack, baseball bat?
Click to expand...
My two tiered faux leather *****/belly pack rocks the Swoosh!!!

Fits nicely with my comb over and mullet. Knee high double striped socks too.
 
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