The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Elizabeth Winkler noted Under Armour shares are "up 40% after finishing 2017 as one of the worst performers" in the S&P 500. The rebound has been "driven more by the strong economy than a turnaround" at the company, which "still hasn’t addressed its underlying problems." Those include "persistent discounting, slowing revenue growth, churn in its executive offices" and a leader in Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank who "seems distracted." While UA "talks a good game on earnings calls about elevating the brand, it isn’t actually taking the steps to do so" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/8).
NEW LOOK: In Cleveland, Michelle Jarboe noted the Cavaliers unveiled an image of a new banner "planned for the space where images of LeBron James hung for years" that will "feature thousands of regular people -- not one superstar." The banner will be a "collage of crowdsourced photos of Clevelanders and Cavs fans." The tagline is "All for the land" (CLEVELAND.com, 9/7). ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin noted the banner, measuring 110 feet tall by 210 feet wide, depicts the "face of the sandstone Guardian of Transportation statue that flanks Cleveland's Hope Memorial Bridge downtown." The Cavs will "create the image of the Guardian by using a mosaic of thousands of photos" (ESPN.com, 9/7).
NOTES: Rakuten has become the exclusive Global Innovation Partner and "Powered by" partner of the obstacle race and endurance brand Spartan (Spartan)....Allegiant is now the "Official Domestic Airline of T-Mobile Arena." The deal was brokered by AEG Global Partnerships (Allegiant).
