| What happened and why Under Armour (+3.73%) is making a fresh move for the big players. After all but cutting ties with its digital ventures like MyFitnessPal and burning bridges with big universities, the all-action sports retailer is now firmly focused on celeb-spotting. The sports apparel company - best known for sitting on top of a baggy pair of chino's in an American shopping mall - is keen to make up for a lethargic 2020. Apart from the expected pain, this year turned out to be a year of other tough calls... Uni dropout... Under Armour ended outfitting deals with two leading university programmes worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Tuning it down... Once the beacon of growth, the B-ball giant wound down its connected fitness business, after investing more than $700m in recent years. After taking some stiff medicine and re-calibrating the business, the sportswear giant has set about a monster re-positioning. And his has a hint of old school about it all... Under Armour has teamed up with Steph Curry - the two-time MVP - to launch a new line of performance stash. With sales of Air Force Ones taking off in the wake of Michael Jordan's documentary, Armour are eyeing up a similar legacy to build. And Basketball is just the beginning. While Lululemon have relished in the booming athleisure market, Under Armour's latest move is all about the game-face. UA are hoping to re-connect with the younger workout-from-home generation that had been a mainstay of their early rise. So far this year, the stock has slumped -24% and this year of transition has seen the brand move out of the shadow of founder and former chief exec Kevin Plank, who's vision for connecting with consumers directly with its digital solutions was in urgent need of a rethink. | The Takeaway ⚖️Finding the balance... Reconnecting and appealing to the younger workout-from-home generation comes with a few checkboxes to tick and it's mainly about finding the right balance between high-performance, comfort and sports-chic. Going mainstream could be a tough nut to crack but their new Steph Curry deal looks like a step in the right direction.
