Lorin hamlin

"We empower those who fight for more."

We are very excited to have Lorin Hamlin (Under Armor Innovation Association) at Siitevent. Lorin is one of the leading sustainable fashion features in sport.

• How have you been dealing with the brand with everything that is happening with the pandemic and the rise of e-commerce?

○ As with other companies in our industry, Under Armor had to grapple with sourcing and supply chain issues and a sudden shift to work from home, trying to achieve a work-life balance. Fortunately, we have a very strong leadership team that made some tough decisions to make sure we got through the pandemic. Our strong presence at ecomm allowed us to continue serving our consumers, which we call "The Focused Performer," allowing them to purchase our products to improve them.

• Does the campaign "The Only Way is Through" apply perfectly to the moment of uncertainty?

○ Our superb global marketing team creates our major campaigns well in advance, and “The Only Way is Through” launched in January 2020, just before the pandemic. It became a rallying cry as we faced many challenges and the timing turned out in our favor.

• The Under Armor logo is the image of "a way of life, of overcoming", is that why the athletes you sponsor also "have a special DNA"?

○ Under Armor has always represented the "underdog." That's what we mean when we say "we empower those who fight for more" and "we make all athletes better." That is what it is all about.

• Has the growing interest in amateur sport been reflected in increased sales?

○ Yes, very much. Elite athletes are an important part of our business, but we would not be successful without amateur athletes.

• Under Armor is the reflection of the American dream, that of a professional athlete who wonders how to improve athletic performance through the best technologies. What can you tell us about it?

○ UA is very much the American dream. Our founder, Kevin Plank, was a football player at the University of Maryland, and he created an absorbent jersey to control sweat under his pads. From his grassroots efforts, his dream grew into a $ 5 billion industry.

• UA's objective is to break the duopoly of Nike and Adidas, something it has already achieved in the United States. "We are the brand of the next generation." How do you try to seduce young audiences? »

○ We continue to focus on our “Focused Performers”, with a strong emphasis on youth, as they are the future of our business. We make performance clothing, accessories and footwear that will appeal to all athletes, young and old, hobbyists and professionals, who want to achieve and exceed their personal goals.

• How has the brand been working on omnichannel strategies?

○ A restructuring effort in 2020 created a new omnichannel department that is working to strengthen our omnichannel strategies in North America and globally.

• How has consumer behavior been lately?

○ The pandemic has created an intersection of health, fitness, wellness and sports that we have never seen before. People are paying much more attention to their health, which is a welcome change, affecting their likelihood of adding sports and fitness to their daily routine.

• In 2008, UA revolutionized the world of football with the «first layers» (underwear), when more than half of Real Madrid wore Under Armor under their kits, will you revolutionize football again with a product?

○ We are putting a lot of emphasis on football through our new and redesigned «Global Football». Look for new clothing and footwear products in the coming months!

• What are the expectations for the brand, plans for the future?

○ After 25 years, UA is still a young company. We grew very fast and now we have to make sure that we are creating the right products and experiences that will support our consumers in all their activities, which we divide into three key areas: training, competing, recovering.

• What are the new goals of the new collections?

○ As the Head of Open Innovation, my job is to ensure UA is always ahead of the game, finding new and upcoming ideas to improve all athletes.