Teens are abandoning Under Armour in droves - and it's turning into a huge crisis for the brand
- Under Armour continues to be unpopular with teens.
- On Tuesday, it had its worst performance in Piper Jaffray's Taking Stock of Teens survey yet.
- It is the brand that's most often cited by upper-income males as one they no longer wear.
The perception of Under Armour among America's youngest and most trend-obsessed customers continues to fall.
In the lastest version of Piper Jaffray's Taking Stock of Teens survey, released Tuesday, the brand had its worst performance yet. Under Armour stayed steady as the 13th-most-cited brand in apparel when compared to last year.
However, its mind share is falling among teens, with nearly every demographic breakdown registering a decline in the number who say Under Armour is their favorite apparel brand.
The slide is most prominent in footwear, where Under Armour is trying to make a strong statement. In this category, the brand has fallen from its spot as the 14th favorite brand a year ago to the 24th in the most recent survey.
The bad news doesn't stop there. The brand continues to be the No. 1 most cited "old" brand that males are no longer wearing. For upper-income males, 12% cited Under Armour as a brand they no longer wear, which is up 2% from just six months ago.
For women, a customer Under Armour has said it needs to speak to, the news is even worse. It appeared for the first time on the list of brands females no longer wear. In fact, only one upper-income female in the survey of 6,000 teens voted for Under Armour as her favorite apparel brand.
Under Armour has been losing cachet among teens for a while now. In a 2017 survey of young male consumers by Wells Fargo, Under Armour shoes ranked near the bottom in terms of favorability.
Under Armour shoe sales basically flatlined last year. The basketball star Kevin Durant, signed with rival Nike, said in an interview in August that "everybody knows" that "nobody wants to play in Under Armours."
Shoes are a core business for athletic brands - they account for 65% of Nike's sales but are just 20% of Under Armour's business.
Under Armour has recently tried to "reignite" it shoe business with the launch of its Hovr platform, which had a splashy launch and an initial performance that impressed analysts.