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Analyst warns Under Armour – 2017 will be pivotal for the company

By Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez

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Matt Powell, NPD Group VP and apparel, sports and footwear analyst, said Wednesday that this could be a pivotal year for Under Armour, as the brand responds to shifting fashion trends and the loss of a big retail customer while expanding into a new retail channel.

"I'm confident in the long-term trajectory for UA, but 2017 could be a rocky year," wrote Powell in his blog, reports the ‘Baltimore Sun’.

The analyst expects the athletic apparel retailer to "hit a soft patch, particularly in footwear. ... Footwear brands of UA's size often seem to stumble on their path to growth."

It’s worth recalling that the brand's footwear sales have soared for more than a year, with much of the growth fuelled by basketball star Stephen Curry's signature shoes.

"At the same time, in the industry we've seen a real shift away from performance basketball as fashion footwear," a trend that Nike and other footwear makers and retailers have grappled with, Powell said in an interview. "Under Armour was the outlier."

Furthermore, the new year will usher in other challenges, including expanding into a new channel, Powell noted. Under Armour plans to start selling its clothing and shoes this spring in discount department store chain Kohl's, a move designed to attract more women and kids. Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank announced the plans in July, calling it "a great evolution."

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