Under Armour is "selling its first U.S.-made collection of apparel, including women's sports bras and leggings made in Baltimore," according to Lorraine Mirabella of the Baltimore SUN. The apparel, dubbed "Arris Project," is being "produced at UA Lighthouse, the brand's manufacturing and design center that opened last summer." UA Lighthouse is the company's "first step in its local-for-local manufacturing initiative to bring production of clothing and footwear closer to where the brand's products are sold" (Baltimore SUN, 1/31). In Baltimore, Ryan Sharrow noted the initial run of 2,000 units "cost $120 for the leggings and $50 for the bra." The clothes were available starting yesterday on UA's website. The U.S.-made line comes as President Trump has "made manufacturing in the U.S. a top priority." The White House on Friday announced UA Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank is "among a group of business leaders who will provide Trump and his administration with advice for creating job growth in America" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/30). In DC, Sarah Halzack writes this is a "key milestone in the company's ambitious bid to significantly rethink its manufacturing strategy." The company, which today took a hit on Wall Street after reporting its Q4 results, said that it was able to "operate on a sharply shorter timeline for bringing the gear to market" and it "believes the Lighthouse setup is cost neutral compared to making clothing overseas." UA’s experiment "might end up drawing particularly close observation from retailers and Washington alike to see if it can be a blueprint for similar initiatives." UA President of Category Management & Innovation Kevin Haley said that the process for creating garments such as the bra and leggings "would typically take 18 to 20 months." For the Baltimore-made pieces, "it took just three months." But speed to market "wasn’t the only reason Under Armour pursued U.S. manufacturing capabilities." UA has a "lofty goal of contributing to a revitalization of Baltimore by creating jobs at Lighthouse and a planned roster of other facilities" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/31).
PLAYING POLITICS? THE STREET's Brian Sozzi wrote under the header, "Under Armour Blows Kiss To Trump By Launching First Clothing Collection Made In America." The "timing of the news" by UA is "well-placed." The Trump administration "could end up being a foe" to UA and Plank given how "vocal they have been on possibly invoking tariffs on products made abroad." Trump "pulled no punches on the topic during the meeting with Plank and other big-name CEOs." Just 8% of UA's factories are "located in the U.S., while 24% are in China and 12% in Vietnam." Trump's camp has "rejected previous reports that it's aiming for a 5% universal import tax, but a tariff of that size could have dire consequences for the business models" of UA and Nike. JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss said that athletic manufacturers "could take a 40% hit to their earnings." However, UA's business is "more susceptible because it doesn't have the same international market diversity that Nike enjoys" (THESTREET.com, 1/30).
FITTING INTO THE GLASS SLIPPER: UA Senior VP/Global Sports Marketing Ryan Kuehl discussed how the company decides which athletes get signature shoes, saying, "It’s everything from feedback from our retailers to comments we get directed at Under Armour, to agencies and other outfits out there -- Optimum Media is one we use here, as well as Repucom and some others." He added the agencies help the company "evaluate where that athlete is in their standing, not only in their own sport but in the whole athletics world" (Baltimore SUN, 1/28).
