Taya Nicolle

20013804
Case: In Search of the Next Big Thing
Due Date: November 10, 2021

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think of UAs approach to Innovation? Would you expect to see this
type of innovation in an athletic wear company? Explain.

Under Armour has a very unique approach when it comes to Innovation. The company
started off by spotting a problem with sports t-shirts. Athlete's faced issues with a lot of
sweating and this prompted an individual to come up with a solution. This is how the
company came to be.

Under Armour has managed to stay up to par with competition in the industry despite the
dominance of some major brands such as a Nike. What keeps the company going is the
will to adopt a market trends and creating viable solutions for its customers.

It is expected of athletic companies come up with solutions to athletes Problems. By

solving their problems, the company manages to be relevant in the market. Meeting
customers needs is the key to success. Therefore, one needs to be innovative.

2. What do you think UA’s culture might be like in regards to innovation?

Different companies have different innovative cultures based on their customer’s needs.
When one decides to be innovative in terms of culture, they are bound to face challenges.
Some challenges that one might face, may be in terms of marketing your products or
earning the trust of the customer base. Under armour used an approach of using
immediate friends who were already enrolled in sports. This made it easy for the
company to market its products. Under Armour focuses on the type of employees they
hire, the environment that they work in, the employees are empowered, each of them
knows exactly what their job description is and they have been instilled with the spirit to
meet customers needs.

3. Could design thinking help UA improve it’s innovation efforts? Discuss.

Under Armour seems to be on the right path of using design thinking. From the word go,
the company relied on first-hand problems that faced athletes so as to come up with

This study source was downloaded by 100000855641713 from CourseHero.com on 11-02-2022 14:25:51 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/117743519/In-Search-of-the-Next-Big-Thingodt/
 designs. The company has an entire section set aside for purposes of creating new unique
designs that meet the client's needs. These efforts help the company stay put in the
competition with the other giant companies such as Nike.

4. What's your interpretation of the company's philosophy posted prominently over

the door of its design studio? What does it say about innovation?

Under Armour’s philosophy clearly states that the company has “not yet built their
“defining product”. This statement is aimed at motivating the employees who are in
charge of design at the company. The philosophy clearly informs them that no matter how
good a design is or has been invented, there shall always be another need and they need
to innovate a better design than the previous. With this mentality, employees are
guaranteed to work in a manner that they can outdo themselves in terms of design.

5. What could other companies learn from the way UA innovates?

Under Armour Innovative products according to the needs of its clients. From the first t-
shirt that was created to help with sweating during matches (2010). Under Armour has
fought single-handedly to match up other companies in the same category. The main
lesson that can be learnt from this company is that innovation has no limits. One should
not confiscate themselves with perfection over Innovation. By creating more innovative
products one is able to reach the customers needs and therefore stay in competition.

This study source was downloaded by 100000855641713 from CourseHero.com on 11-02-2022 14:25:51 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/117743519/In-Search-of-the-Next-Big-Thingodt/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)