This post was spurred by a friend and training partner who earlier today made an offhand comment about the ubiquity of UnderArmor training apparel amongst gym goers:
Everybody and their uncle is wearing that stuff now, and they aren't working hard enough to warrant it.
No longer the domain of college and pro athletes, UnderArmor has caught on with the mainstream, which was, of course, the plan all along. As a clothing brand, especially as sportswear, you have to make hay while the sun shines, because one day soon, you will be over.
Way back when I was a lad working at Sports Experts, No Fear was at the top of their game, and wanted to dictate terms to the company's buyers: "We want to be in these A-stores, but not these ones, and none of your B and C stores." The head buyer at the time responded with some rude comments about how No Fear was surfing a wave, and they had better ride it through the A, B, and C stores before that wave broke.
Just now googling, I was surprised to see No Fear still in business. On the other hand, I don't know what drama, recievership, and ownership changes they've been through in the past fifteen-plus; that's how far they've been off my radar.
You can chart the position of a label on it's brand-image arc by the stores that carry it. This year, UnderArmor is in premiere outlets like SportChek, next year, you may well find them at
Army & Navy.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Brands come, and brands go
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2 comments:
Army & Navy! Putdowns do not come meaner (or more Canada specific) than that. Speaking of sporting goods, presumably you have been following the Forzani ups and downs (and more ups and downs).
Well, FGL has been trading well off of their 5-year high. Despite having the greatest banner coverage Canadian retail sporting goods, they haven't turned in particularly impressive revenue or net income.
Don't forget, last month founder and Chairman John Forzani retired, taking a non-executive chair on the board.
Personally, given the leadership vacuum, and their indifferent financial results, contrasted with their Brand and retail coverage, I believe them to be a serious buyout target, either by an American retailer, or a Private Equity concern, looking for a turnaround story that they can resell at a hansome profit once they rebuild the fundamentals. I think this is why the analysts are giving FGL a buy rating, by and large.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/q/ao?s=FGL.TO
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