Under Armour is "wrapping up arguably its best year ever" as sales -- expected to pass $3B -- "are up an eye-popping 30%; its stock is up nearly 60%; and this year it sprinted past Adidas to become the No. 2 sportswear brand in the U.S." trailing only Nike, according to a front-page piece by Bruce Horovitz of USA TODAY. The "gritty Baltimore company whose DNA sits pooled in the sweat of the men's locker room, also emerged this year as such a serious player in women's sports apparel that it now accounts for 30% of sales." Just about "every kid -- and now, almost every grown-up -- is only too happy to overpay to wear the hip cultural badge of Under Armour." UA Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank has pushed the company "from wannabe to powerhouse with perseverance and by making non-stop, lightening-quick decisions." He said, "Sometimes the best decision is just making a decision." That mindset has helped UA "to post 18 consecutive quarters of 20% revenue growth and four consecutive quarters up 30%." Int'l sales "are up about 86% this year, but that's not enough for Plank." He said that he is "open to the possibility of everything from Under Armour branded bottled water to sports drinks to protein bars." Horovitz notes UA began '14 "with an Olympic-sized nightmare," as there was "sniping at the speedsuits made by Under Armour" for the U.S. speedskating team. Perhaps only Plank "could figure out how to turn what appeared to be a debacle into a PR win" when "instead of turning his back on the red, white and blue, he doubled down on the length of Under Armour's team sponsorship" (USA TODAY, 12/23). Meanwhile in Baltimore, Sarah Meehan noted UA "has been named Yahoo Finance's Company of the Year" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/19).
