Under Armour Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank and Warriors G Stephen Curry are currently on a marketing tour throughout Asia, which is the "new front lines for the sneaker wars," according to CNBC's Sara Eisen. The NBA is the "top-selling league" in China, and more than 300 million people play basketball in the country. Curry, who endorses UA, is on the trip along with Plank to "get his star power up to sell sneakers in what is becoming ... the largest consumer market for the NBA." Plank said, "There's a difference between the way the basketball is played in the west and basketball is played in China. You've got (1.3) billion people finding fitness and finding athleticism. Here it’s really about market expansion, it’s about growing the overall pie and the opportunities available to us. I think basketball remains a massive opportunity. ... If you can crack the code on China, it's a massive step forward.” Eisen notes Nike is well-entrenched in the China market. But Plank said, "We’ve built our career on going against established brands, so there's nothing new or different here. In addition to the two other major global players, there are a lot of local Chinese brands that have some pretty entrenched businesses as well. We see our position … different from the other global players. We see our position different from the local market as well. Under Armour is going to be okay.” Eisen notes the “secret to Under Armour's playbook” is the “rising global star of Steph Curry.” The two-time NBA MVP indicated that he "wants to get into more high fashion, more into the sneakerhead type of market."
CHEF SCHOOL: Eisen notes Curry drew plenty of headlines after the release of his "'dad shoe' that went viral a few months ago." Curry said, "That was amazing because I obviously thought the stories and the tag lines behind it were kind of funny. For me, having people wondering what’s next, what's coming out, you’re on the right track.” Eisen asked, “Are there going to be more 'dad shoes?'” Curry: “I wouldn't call them that, but there will be more white-based shoes that will be open for interpretation.” Eisen said Curry has been "defending the style despite the mockery on social media, and it actually was one of the better sellers, even with all of the ridicule that those shoes got” ("Worldwide Exchange," CNBC, 9/7).
