Under Armour 2009 Annual Report Download - page 2

CHAIRMAN’S 2009 LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
To Our Shareholders,
Under Armour® was born in a moment on the athletic fi eld. It wasn’t
a great athletic achievement, it was instead a promise that we would
make athletes better and improve their performance by providing a
superior product. On that promise, we have built our Brand.
In 2009, we once again delivered on that promise and proved that
we remain a growth company. And more so than ever, we showed
that we could deliver growth while investing in the foundation needed
for a multi-billion dollar global brand. Today our company is stronger
from both a brand and fi nancial perspective and we are improving our
operational capabilities and better positioning ourselves for continued
long-term growth.
Our achievements this past year were many:
• We grew Net Revenues 18 percent, as we demonstrated our
ability to grow in any environment;
• Net Income increased 22 percent, a strong indicator that we are
bringing more fi nancial discipline to our organization;
• We maintained our leadership position in core compression
apparel;
• We grew our market share outside the compression category,
which is important for our long-term apparel revenue story;
• We continued to build our team, developing a higher level of
operational excellence as we execute our growth strategy;
• And most importantly, we continued to bring new consumers into
the Under Armour Brand with new strength in our categories and
even greater on-fi eld authenticity at every level.
We believe strongly that this authenticity on the fi eld, the growing
strength of our Brand and our capacity to innovate provide us with
opportunities unlike any other company in our business. Since becoming
a public company in 2005, we have consistently said that the successful
development of our fi ve key growth drivers – Men’s & Women’s Apparel,
Footwear, International and Direct-to-Consumer – will shape our
company’s future. Our continued consistent investment in each of
these fi ve areas positions us well for 2010 and beyond.
We made signifi cant progress in each of our fi ve growth drivers in 2009.
Our Apparel net revenues were up 13 percent for the year. We saw
strong growth in Men’s Apparel in categories such as Basketball and
Mountain, further evidence that our Brand is resonating outside of the
core and that we are building equity with new consumers. We’ve added
depth to our Women’s team across all functions and will continue to
bring the right fi t, the right colors and cohesive merchandising to our
Women’s line moving forward into 2010.
Our business outside North America continues to grow steadily. With
the continued expansion of our Brand in Japan, through our licensee
Dome, and in Europe, our International revenues increased nearly 50
percent in 2009.
In 2009, net revenues from our Direct-to-Consumer sales channel grew
nearly 50 percent. As we continue to expand our Brand’s access to
new consumers, it’s critical that we strategically grow the avenues
through which our Brand is available to the consumer. Through our
Direct-to-Consumer sales channels, such as our Global Direct website,
our Factory House outlet stores, and our four Specialty stores, we can
ensure that the presentation and merchandising mix of our product is
aligned with our growth strategy. By making our Direct-to-Consumer
sales channel a key part of our growth plans, we help ensure these
direct communications with consumers will inform our strategy as we
continue to grow.
Our Footwear net revenues showed the largest dollar increase of our
growth drivers in 2009, which speaks to the long-term opportunity we