Under Armour "plans to open its first Chicago retail store on the Magnificent Mile next March, and it will be the athletic-wear retailer’s largest 'brand house' to date," according to Alexia Elajade-Ruiz of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. UA has "leased 30,000 square feet at 600 N. Michigan Ave." for the new retail location. The company in a release said its retail concept has been “successfully executed” in other locations, including N.Y., Baltimore and McLean, Va. The store will "offer men’s, women’s and youth apparel, footwear and equipment, including outdoor and hunt gear and specialized shops dedicated to running and training." It will also sell "Chicago-specific products" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/18). UA in January signed a 10-year deal to outfit Notre Dame athletics (THE DAILY).
MARKET REPORT: CNBC's Brian Sullivan noted UA shares are up 25% in the past month, "crushing the competition, including Nike." MKM Partners Exec Dir & Chief Market Technician Jonathan Krinsky said there are no signs UA will slow down "in the long run." Krinsky: "We're in the middle of the World Cup, as you know. We could say that Under Armour's been the Lionel Messi of retail stocks." Krinsky said in terms of acquiring shares of UA, he is in the "near term a little cautious, but I think there's more room to go in the long term." S&P Capital IQ Equity Chief Investment Officer Erin Gibbs said UA "has some really high expectations." Gibbs: "Currently it's expecting about 25 percent EPS growth year-over-year. Now they achieved that last year and they're looking for the same type of growth rate this year, but the problem is it's trading at about 62 times earnings versus its competitor, Nike, ... which tends to trade more around 25 percent. So there's a lot of this growth that's really built in" ("Street Signs," CNBC, 6/16).
