USA TODAY International Edition
Under Armour changing
Founder, CEO Kevin Plank steps down
Under Armour, the sportswear company trying to rebound after a series of setbacks, may be trying to speed up its turnaround by making dramatic changes at the top.
Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank – who founded the company and grew it into a major force in the sports apparel industry only to see it stumble as it reached new heights – is stepping down.
Plank is set to relinquish his roles as chairman and CEO on Jan. 1 after holding those positions since 1996, the Baltimore- based company announced Tuesday.
The company’s president and chief operating officer, Patrik Frisk, will be elevated to CEO.
But Plank is not going away. In his new roles as executive chairman and brand chief, Plank may be able to concentrate on the challenges that have hobbled Under Armour in recent years.
“By putting in place a new CEO ... Plank will be able to take a step back from the day- to- day running of the company to focus more on brand building, innovation and strategy,” says Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy Global Data. “In the long run, that is probably a helpful move as all of those things are where the company needs to make improvements.”
Under Plank’s leadership, Under Armour grew into a serious competitor for rivals Nike and Adidas. The company signed lucrative sponsorship deals with such athletes as golf star Jordan Spieth and NBA star Steph Curry.
But roughly two years ago, the company’s prospects soured amid declines in sports apparel, missteps in distribution and struggles in appealing to
women.
The company cut costs and laid off staff in its comeback bid. But there were other setbacks. Plank drew fire from critics after he called President Donald Trump an “asset to the country” for his pro- business agenda in February 2017 and joined the president’s since- disbanded manufacturing council.
He later sought to put distance between himself and Trump by leaving the council, running an ad opposing Trump’s travel ban and defending Baltimore when Trump attacked the city.
Under Armour’s turnaround is “still happening” but “just not at light speed,” UBS analyst Jay Sole said July 31 in a research note.
In his new roles, Plank will be “focusing on product elevation, amplifying the brand story and stewarding the company’s strong team culture,” Under Armour said in a statement.
Frisk, the one- time CEO of footwear and accessories company Aldo, has been with Under Armour since 2017 and was Plank’s “partner during the most transformative chapter in our history,”
Plank said in a statement.
Under Armour’s stock rose nearly 6% to $ 21.23 in afternoon trading Tuesday.
Still, “Under Armour faces quite a few challenges and changing the leadership will not automatically solve any of them,” Saunders says. “I think Under Armour’s performance will improve, but I don’t see growth returning to the levels that were being posted a few years ago.”