Under Armour’s premier shoe doesn’t really seem to be selling much anymore, but is that the fault of the brand or the shoe itself?
Remember when people actually thought that Under Armour would be gunning for Nike’s throne? Yeah, that was a fun two months or so, wasn’t it?
Many fans thought that the combination of Steph Curry’s play on the court, his ability to be relatable to a younger audience and the overall performance capabilities of the UA’s Curry line would be enough to fuel Under Armour past Nike. Only, the sales on Curry’s signature shoe haven’t really been at the level everyone expected it would be.
Not only is it now apparent that UA Basketball won’t be passing Nike in the foreseeable, but they also aren’t likely to come anywhere close to their success anytime soon.
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Under Armour just reported its first quarterly loss as a public company, and CEO Kevin Plank spoke on a large component of that loss, the Curry 3:
"“As we launched the Curry 3 late last year, our expectations continued to run high. And while the Three played very well on court for Stephen Curry and our athletes, a sluggish signature market and a warm consumer reception led to softer than expected results.” Plank continued, “This has created an inventory imbalance that we are working through. One that, yes, is baked into our full-year outlook which hasn’t changed and, most importantly, yielded lessons we’re applying ahead with the Curry 4 and beyond.”"
While the sales of Curry’s signature line isn’t the only reason for Under Armour’s seemingly monumental slip (here’s looking at you performance pajamas and UA’s wearable technology) but it’d be ignorant to say it’s not been a large part of it. A very large part.
To put things simply, the Curry 3 hasn’t sold well. There are many reasons for this, including some of those listed above as to the hopeful success of the Curry line, and there’s no denying the affect its poor sales have had on Under Armour.
Identifying causalities
One thing you need to know about the sneaker market is that, much like the stock market, it’s fairly difficult for the brands themselves to predict. While most brands are generally good at gauging which releases, retro or otherwise, will draw the highest crowds, there are certain occasions when sneakers can’t even manage to sell half of the amount of units that were produced. Releases like those tend to have a negative affect on brands, much like what happened to Under Armour in November.
Foot Locker CEO Dick Johnson was quoted to saying the Curry 3:
"“started off a bit slower than the previous models.”"
Under Armour’s value drastically fell in response of that, losing nearly $600 million in public value. But why hasn’t the Curry 3 sold well?
Let’s first talk about what the Curry 3 is, then go into what it isn’t. What it is, is an above-average performance basketball shoe. The model’s traction is fantastic, cushioning is sound, court feel is solid and the support isn’t half-bad either. In all honesty, it’s a legitimately better performance shoe than many of the products that Nike or Jordan have been producing over the past year. (For Jordan Brand, that statement may arguably hold true in a span longer than just the past year.)
However, the performance capabilities don’t always have a direct correlation as to the success of any given silo.
A sneaker is nothing if it doesn’t look dope. It’s what ultimately decides whether or not any given sneaker will be a success. If it’s dope, it sells. Unfortunately for Under Armour, the Steph Curry line and dope don’t really seem to go hand-in-hand.
Wiz of Awes
As soon as the images for the Curry 2 Low, Curry 2.5 and Curry 3s began to flood the web (at separate times of course) the roasting began. Was it ruthless and harsh, yes. But before you judge, ask yourself this: would you rather wear the “True Blue” IIIs or the “I was told by Apple Care” 3s to go with you outfit? (Don’t worry, I already know the answer.)
Another reason Under Armour has taken a significant hit is due the lack of the Curry 3s popular amongst the youngest of basketball fans. As someone who’s worked at Kids Foot Locker, I can tell you that kids aren’t really with Steph Curry’s signature line like they used to.
When the Curry 1s and Curry 2s dropped, we never seemed to have enough of them in stock to keep up with demand. And it’s not because UA wanted them to be limited, it’s just that they were really that popular. But something changed only two weeks before the start of 2016. Something that changed the sneaker landscape. The Kyrie 2 dropped (featured above).
Nike’s release of the Kyrie 2 was significantly bigger than most anyone expected, and in a way, it’s due to the look of the Kyrie 1.
Something we noticed with the Kyrie 1 is that kids really wanted to cop them. The only problem was that they’re kids, so they never really got the final say. Parents feel that if they’re buying the shoe, it better be a silhouette and colorway that they also like. Something made quite difficult for the Kyrie 1, due to geometrically designed heel counter. In turn, that meant many parents bought the shoes that were their children’s second choice.
Things were different with the Kyrie 2.
Parents loved the overall design of Kyrie’s second signature shoe, not only for their children but for themselves too. Kids were able to get their first choice of signature shoe, while parents found their first favorite shoe line of this “era.” That showed in the overall sales of the shoe as the Kyrie 2 cracked the top-ten selling shoes of 2016 (via Matt Powell), the only modern performance basketball shoe to do so.
The only problem was that the sales of the Kyrie 2, combined with overall look of the Curry line released in 2016, caused Under Armour to go somewhat forgotten by kids.
Searching for a solution
Even with the lack of success Under Armour has seen with Curry 2 Low, 2.5 and 3s, Curry’s line still has hope. How could it not when talking about a two-time league MVP? The only trouble is in which path they choose to regain traction in the sneaker market.
They’ve already started in the right direction by lowering the overall price of Curry’s shoes. Outside of just the look, parents have been drawn to the Kyrie 2s and Kyrie 3s because of their incredibly affordable price, $99.99 for kids and $119.99 for adults. That’s in comparison to the apparently increasing price of the Curry line, which has now increased to $139.99 at retail price ($114.99 for kids). I think it’s pretty obvious, but prices do mean something to their perceived target audience.
Thankfully, Under Armour has realized this and have recently slashed the prices of the Curry 3 down to $99.99 and $79.99. On the surface, it looks as they’re trying to move as many remaining units as possible due to overproduction. While that’s true, UA has also made the decision to lower the retail price of the of Curry’s current shoe, the 3Zero, to $119.99 and $99.99.
It may sound a little crazy, but an Under Armour-John Wall pairing would be pretty perfect
Now that the prices are out-of-the-way, let’s move on to the look. I’m not going to pretend I know how Under Armour can improve the Currys enough to entice sneakerheads like myself to buy and wear them for recreational purposes (though I have some ideas), but it’s pretty clear that things need to change.
Curry’s shoes keep getting more and more boring with each release, so much so that the design of the Curry 3 and 3Zero have been passed by the Anta KT2 (featured above). That’s very less than ideal. Far from it, in fact.
It’s a little more than optimistic to think that a price change and re-design could swing Curry’s line enough to Under Armour back into relevance. But what if UA didn’t just have to bank on the success of Curry’s signature line? What if they had another athlete on their roster who deserved a shoe of their own? And I’m talking about a special PE of the ClutchFit Drive, I mean their own signature line.
For that, brands normally look to promote from within. Given their roster though, let’s just say that’s not an option. (I don’t mean to trigger any Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay stans, but it’s not going to happen for them.) That means Under Armour is going to have to go after as many of the top sneaker free agents as possible, which wouldn’t be as absurd as you might think.
They were incredibly aggressive in their pursuit of Kevin Durant, and it’d be wise if they did the same for another superstar. A player who, as fate would have it, happens to be a sneaker free agent. Someone who plays exactly 41.0 miles away from Under Armour’s Baltimore headquarters. One who likes to doug….look, I’m talking about John Wall.
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It may sound a little crazy, but an Under Armour-John Wall pairing would be pretty perfect. Wall is looking to parlay his success this season into a hefty shoe deal. Under Armour just so happens to need a new superstar to pair with Steph Curry, and their willing to pay for it. Both want a new signature shoe line.
Here’s hoping the two come together and make something new and dope. (Especially for Under Armour’s sake.)