Under Armour CEO outlines expansion plans for China

Global Business

Under ArmourUnder Armour founder, chairman, and CEO Kevin Plank attends an event with National Basketball Association (NBA) Golden State Warriors 2014-2015 season MVP Stephen Curry in Tokyo on September 4, 2015. Curry started his three-nation (Japan, China and Philippines) Under Armour Asia tour to promote the company’s limited basketball shoes, “UA Curry II”. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

Sporting goods maker Under Armour’s CEO Kevin Plank has aggressive plans for expansion in the Chinese market.

Speaking to CCTV News, Plank said that Under Armour, which entered China in 2010, will have a large-scale presence in the country during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

“The Chinese market has a deep desire for Under Armour,” Plank said, adding that the company is opening 30 stores in 30 days in the month of September alone. Plank plans to have more than 100 stores in China by the end of 2015.

Plank, who is currently in China to promote Under Armour’s latest basketball shoes with NBA star Stephen Curry, said he values the Chinese market so much that he decided to hold the global launch of the shoes in Beijing.

He said that it was important for his company to figure out how to have the “appropriate and right conversation” with Chinese consumers.

The U.S. company’s sales revenue growth in 2014 was 96 percent globally, with revenue in the U.S. expanding over 20 percent and growth in China over 100 percent.

Plank believes there is still great growth potential in the Chinese market, and the country is fast becoming the largest market for the company, outside the U.S.