The top Golden State Warriors guard hopes to play four or five more NBA seasons. With retirement approaching, he’s hurrying to capitalise on his sports successes by partnering with Under Armour Inc. to bring his brand to the streets.
Curry, 35, is still a dominant force in the NBA, and his performance-oriented basketball sneakers made Under Armour relevant. Curry’s efforts to create a product that appeals to sneakerheads have lagged behind Michael Jordan, Ja Morant, and LaMelo Ball, whose shoes outsell Curry’s on StockX.
Curry highlighted his retail goals before the NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis this month. “What legacy can I leave? I want to play at a high level as long as I can, but this is an opportunity to generate more ownership,” four-time NBA champion Curry said on his way to Under Armour’s All-Star weekend store.
Under Armour also relies on Curry. He signed a long-term pact with Nike in March to expand their collaboration beyond signature sneakers. He became president of Curry Brand to sell streetwear and represent the brand. According to regulatory documents, he received $75 million in shares in April as part of his pay.
Curry is crucial to Under Armour’s ambitions to revive its business after years of stagnation. Under Armour’s footwear segment contributes for 25% of its yearly revenue, with sales of roughly $1.5 billion last year, but it still behind Nike Inc. and Adidas AG. TD Cowen estimated Curry’s yearly sales at $250 million last year, but the business doesn’t disclose them.
Under Armour CEO Stephanie Linnartz, who took over last February, wants to transform the brand into “sports style”—casual athletic wear for everyday wear. After a decade of limited-edition drops and touted collaborations, Under Armour has failed to establish a meaningful presence in the streetwear industry.
“I am still digging in deep to figure out exactly how we’ll map that out over multiple years,” former Marriott International Inc. CEO Linnartz said of Curry. Sales goals haven’t been set by executives. “It’s going to be a really important part of the Under Armour portfolio,” she said.
Linnartz has led Under Armour on a three-year turnaround strategy, focusing on womenswear and footwear to boost home market growth. The company upped its full-year earnings projection in February despite a 12% North American revenue reduction.
The past year has been difficult for the major sportswear brands. Adidas is selling discontinued Yeezy shoes to recover costs after the label collapsed a year ago. Nike reduced 2% of its global workforce this month to save $2 billion.
Nike still has the most successful athlete sneaker contract ever. After 20 years, Michael Jordan’s brand, with over $5 billion in global sales, remains the gold standard. Even Steph wants Mike’s style.
Curry: “You look at examples like the Jordan brand — the peak of an athlete taking their platform and presence and turning it into something. “Trying to build my version of that.”
