Under Armour Cuts Full-Year North America Revenue Forecast

With its aggressive use of social media as well as its popular sweat-proof clothing, Under Armour has fought an uphill battle to stand out in a space that has been dominated by Adidas AG and Nike Inc. for many years. Now, as it suffered with a formidable performance by those companies, Under Armour cut its full-year North America revenue forecast, Reuters reported.

Nike posted a 7 percent jump the quarter ended in May for North America revenue, while Under Armour sales dropped 3 percent. A consensus from Refinitiv of three analysts had projected a decline of 1.1 percent. GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said per the report, “We see little evidence of a material pick up in the way consumers, and especially women consumers, see Under Armour.”

Under Armour has been spending more to bolster its international market online offerings as well as open stores. Those moves aided it in posting growth in Asia Pacific as well as Europe markets. The brand has also reportedly seen “some success” per the report with the rollout of products encompassing HOVR shoes, Curry sneaker and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Project Rock workout line. In its main quarterly report, however, the brand did not break out sales of particular lines.

In separate footwear news, it was reported in May that Nike is rolling out a new service within its app that will scan a user’s feet to determine his or her correct shoe size. The company said at the time it sees a real need for the service as 60 percent of consumers are wearing the wrong shoe size at any given time, which can lead to discomfort and even injury.

And, in April, reports surfaced that Beyoncé had partnered up with Adidas attempts to make its casual fashion line more appealing to a younger generation. Shares in Adidas jumped 1.3 percent following the announcement. The Beyoncé deal was to yield new items in the categories of lifestyle and performance.