Business Insider/Jessica Tyler
While Under Armour has diversified its marketing campaigns, the stores and merchandise fall short.
- Under Armour's store design and marketing have been criticized in the past for being very male-focused.
- But Under Armour has been trying to shake its reputation of being a traditionally masculine store.
- "While store design, marketing, and products remain male-focused, Under Armour will continue to struggle with women. This is a lost opportunity as female sports and fitness remain a fast-growth part of the market," Neil Saunders, managing director of the
retail consulting firm GlobalData Retail, wrote this week.
Under Armour has been trying to reach women for years, but its efforts still appear to be falling short.
The sportswear company has long described the women's apparel market as a big opportunity for growth. As of July 2017, women's products represented $1 billion of Under Armour's $4.8 billion revenue, according to AdAge.
That year, Under Armour launched an ad campaign that was perhaps its biggest attempt to reach women yet, featuring athletes like ballerina Misty Copeland, stuntwoman Jessie Graff, and sprinter Natasha Hastings. The hope was to make a bigger splash in the women's business and shift the perception that Under Armour's stores are typically more masculine.
But the company still seems to be falling behind competitors like Lululemon and Athleta, which many female consumers see as being more fashionable.
"The final issue is the masculine nature of the brand, which has made it hard for Under Armour to expand its reach to women," Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail consulting firm GlobalData Retail, wrote this week. "While store design, marketing, and products remain male-focused, Under Armour will continue to struggle with women. This is a lost opportunity as female sports and fitness remain a fast-growth part of the market."
We visited an Under Armour store to see why it's still failing to win over women:
