Under Armour
The athletic footwear and apparel company Under Armour was founded and created by University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank (Under Armour Annual Report, 2018). He started the company to develop a shirt that would wick away sweat from the body. Plank’s motivation was rooted in a desire to reduce the number of sweat-soaked T-shirts he would go through during a football season. Plank teamed up with Kip Fulks, a fellow athlete and friend. Through Plank’s numerous contacts in the sports industry, the duo began selling his shirts to Georgia Tech and Arizona State University. Later, Kip Fulks would go on to be named Under Armour’s vice president of production. Since the early days of 1996, Under Armour has grown to become one of the biggest names in athleticwear. The company generated a net revenue of $4,989,244 in 2017, before increasing its revenue a year later to $5,193,185 in 2018 (Under Armour Annual Report, 2018).
Under Armour’s work culture is centered around sustainability, diversity, and charitable contributions (Under Armour Careers, n.d.). The company strives to help United States soldiers, veterans, and first responders. Due to the work culture and charitable goals of the company, Under Armour often uses its love for military and first responders in shaping its strategic planning and marketing goals (Weedon, 2012).
Under Armour has a traditional management structure for a large company. Its code of conduct is what makes its structure and decision-making process unique. The official code of conduct begins with a letter from the company’s CEO. Here is an excerpt from that letter:
As Under Armour teammates, we make key decisions every day to support the Brand. Some decisions are easy, and some can be pretty tough. Either way, it is essential that every choice we make reflects our Vision, Mission and Values, and respects the laws in every location where we do business. To ensure that we always make smart choices for our business, we created the official Under Armour Code of Conduct, and its message couldn’t be more clear. As a TEAM, we should always Make the Right Call and do what’s best for our fellow teammates and for the Brand. -Kevin Plank Chairman and CEO Under Armour
Another excerpt of interest includes the company’s stance on consumer data:
We’re committed to protecting the privacy of our consumers’ personal data everywhere. Under Armour’s Privacy Policies address our commitment to collecting, storing and using this information. We handle the storage, access and transfer of personal data in accordance with applicable laws. If teammates hear about or suspect any data incidents, immediately contact the Data Incident Response Team. (Under Armour Code of Conduct, 2019)