Armour

Dulles, VA. -- Teenagers don't get out of bed early on a Saturday morning for much. But yesterday all it took for the Heritage High School football team in Leesburg, Va., was the 9 a.m. launch of the Under Armour football cleat. The players hovered over each other trying on the different styles. They had to be the first to get a pair before summer football camp starts. "Now that the cleats are out, I have to get a pair to match everything else," said Reid Hoff, who plays tackle for Heritage and said he owns Under Armour T-shirts, socks, shorts and hats.

Under Armour shares were hammered for a second day yesterday as investors remained skeptical that high marketing costs for a new cross trainer shoe, including a Super Bowl commercial, would justify a trade-off for weak earnings in the first half of the year. Under Armour shares plunged 24.42 percent, or $9.05, to close at $28.01, after dropping more than 13 percent Thursday. The two-day drop of $14.84 erased nearly 35 percent - or $721 million - of the Baltimore sports apparel company's market value.

The Baltimore sports apparel company Under Armour is introducing a line of mouth gear that it says will not only protect the jaw from hits but will reduce stress to improve athletic performance. UA Performance Mouthwear was developed by Bite Tech Inc., a Minneapolis company that has researched mouth products for athletes. The mouthpiece is for noncontact sports such as baseball, running, golf and tennis, and costs $495. The mouthguard for football, hockey, lacrosse and other contact sports costs $450.

When David W. McCreight took over as president of Under Armour more than a year ago, he came to a company that in many ways was the polar opposite from where he was working at Lands' End. Lands' End was nearly a half-century old with roots in the catalog business and looking for ways to revive, grow and stay relevant. Under Armour was an up-and-coming, vibrant company with marketing campaigns that resonated with the younger generation and plans to expand its line of athletic wear. "It was really sort of a once-in-a-generation sports brand opportunity," said McCreight, 46, who said the job allows him to combine his passion for sports with that of running a company.

Julia B. Anderson was impressed with the high-tech presentation Under Armour put on yesterday during its annual meeting at the ESPN Zone sports bar and restaurant - complete with big-screen televisions and snippets from its various marketing campaigns. But what Anderson isn't so impressed with is the company's stock price. And yesterday, Anderson told Under Armour executives just that. She bought the stock three years ago when it priced at more than $50. Yesterday it closed at $35. "Is there anything you can say to make me feel better?"

Two of Maryland's greatest self-made men of recent years - Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti - have taken the routine renewal of their companies' marketing agreement and are extending it to a combined philanthropic effort focused on Baltimore City schools and children. Both men see a healthy Baltimore as essential to the well-being of the state (and, not incidentally, their own success), and they say they want to do whatever they can to improve it. Their idea to combine "a little money, a little exposure and a little arm-twisting" to find ways of inspiring city youth and convincing others to join in their efforts has real potential.

Under Armour's multimillion-dollar bid to gain a toehold in the broader athletic shoe market began over the weekend with the launch of its new cross trainer, but it could take weeks until the Baltimore company knows whether it has a winner. Preliminary reports indicate that the new shoe didn't break any sales records, but some say it didn't do badly either. One analyst said sales exceeded generally low expectations, while another said the new shoe landed in stores with subdued fanfare.

Warm weather left most retailers with racks full of clothing at the end of the third quarter, but sports apparel company Under Armour saw its business climb. The Baltimore company, which makes clothes that wick sweat from the body to control temperature, reported yesterday strong sales and earnings for the three months that ended in September, widely beating Wall Street expectations. Under Armour Inc. recorded sales growth in all categories of its core compression market. And it was helped by newer products, such as outdoor wear and golf apparel.

A Baltimore company with attitude is slapping its name on one of Chicago's most sacred landmarks. In a few weeks, Wrigley Field will become the latest stadium to carry the Under Armour apparel logo on its outfield wall. Given that the ivy-covered expanse hasn't featured advertising since the first vines were planted in 1937, some Cubs fans are a bit upset. "It's not going over real well at all," former Cubs public relations director Bob Ibach said. "There have been a lot of complaints about it because that ivy's kind of sacred."