If your small business carries athletic and performance apparel, securing the opportunity to carry big brands can draw more customers to your store or online shop. However, some sports companies are easier to purchase wholesale products from than others. Under Armour manufactures a diverse variety of sportswear, shoes and casual clothing, but it is fairly restrictive when providing opportunities for other businesses to carry its goods. The company operates numerous retail stores independently, and limits new retailers to those that have a brick and mortar storefront.
Under Armour Branding
Like many companies, Under Armour considers its brand a significant part of its appeal. The desire to maintain an image of quality leads to restriction. Company rules prohibit adding certain logos to performance apparel in customizable markets, such as corporate promotions, control the price point of Under Armour products and require quality-control on aftermarket graphics. The greater the number of open opportunities to represent the brand as Under Armour retailers, the more opportunities will arise that could dilute the image. If your business secures the ability to carry the products, you will be in an elite class and you will have to meet certain expectations.
Retail Options With UA
The UA All Access website serves as a portal to review your options for carrying Under Armour products in your store. The primary rule does require that your business have a brick and mortar store. The company specifies that it refuses inquiries if this qualification is not meet. Business types the company partners with include sporting goods stores with an inventory consisting of team uniforms, footwear, athletic goods and clothing. Specialty stores dedicated to a specific sport, such as basketball or tennis also are accepted as are tactical, hunting and fishing retailers.
Businesses that specialize in screen printing or embroidery for customized shirts also can apply to carry Under Armor. If your business focuses on promotional products and wants to offer UA to corporate customers, the company can accommodate you if you agree to terms regarding the brand and maintaining the UA prestige. A successful Under Armour wholesale distributor focuses on quality control and ensuring firms ordering the shirts or promo items aren’t using them to promote products not in keeping with UA’s principles, such as tobacco, narcotics and alcohol.
Retaining Existing Team Business Without UA Retail Approval
Under Armour allows sports teams, small groups and businesses to order uniforms direct through their website. While you cannot market Under Armour products without a retail storefront, you can still provide services related to the products to consumers. If you design sports logos or uniforms for teams or companies who decide to switch to UA apparel for an upcoming season, consider marketing your services and limiting the scope to preparing the group logos and branding to fit UA specifications. Avoid indicating a relationship with the brand and ordering the products for delivery to your store as reselling UA products is prohibited without an agreement.
Promote Under Armour Products as an Affiliate
If you have an online only store, you can’t sell Under Armour products, but you can access an affiliate program provided by the company. Affiliate programs allow you to market UA goods on your website with ads and in-text links. When a reader or website visitor clicks on your link or ad and completes a purchase from Under Armour, you receive a commission after a preset period of time elapses to accommodate potential returns. The program provides a 30-day cookie, so you receive credit for any purchases from a buyer for the next 30 days, unless the reader deletes cookies stored on his computer.
Affiliate programs are managed through Awin and Commission Junction, and eligible websites earn a 5-percent commission on sales. Average orders on Under Armour total $90, so you would earn $4.50 on the typical order. The affiliate program provides access to the largest Under Armour catalogue online, which will help you catch the eye of readers, and it provides daily data to advertising managers. You are only providing ad space to the brand, and UA will handle all aspects of order fulfillment.
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