Under Armour CEO Runs a Full-Page Ad in The Baltimore Sun Addressing Pro-Trump Comments

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed Feb 15, 2017, 04:02 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: Adweek

Under Armour CEO Runs a Full-Page Ad in The Baltimore Sun Addressing Pro-Trump Comments

Kevin Plank clarifies the brand's stance on diversity and inclusion

By Katie Richards 29 mins ago

Today Under Armours CEO Kevin Plank purchased a full-page ad in The Baltimore Sun to address comments he made last week on CNBC. In the interview, when asked about President Donald Trump, Plank called him a real asset for American businesses. ... The comments caused a number of the brands star endorses, including Misty Copeland and Dwayne The Rock Johnson, to publicly denounce Planks seemingly pro-Trump stance.*

The open letter, addressed to the city of Baltimore, attempts to clarify the CEOs comments which Plank writes did not accurately reflect my intent. He doesnt ever mention President Trump by name or really reference his comments on CNBC but instead lays out a number of the brands core values and looks back at some of the things the company has done to serve the city of Baltimore. ... We stand firmly for equal rights. Through our investment, hiring and in everything we do, we expect to be leaders in the advancement of all forms of diversity and gender, Plank writes.

Plank also addresses President Trumps travel ban in his letter, something that the brand spoke out against one day after Copeland and Johnson wrote lengthy posts on their Instagram pages to ensure fans that their views on Trump did not align with Planks. We are against a travel ban and believe that immigration is a source of strength, diversity and innovation for global companies based in America like Under Armour, the brand said in its statement regarding the ban.

In his note, Plank echoes that sentiment stating We are publicly opposing the travel ban, and says the company plans to join a coalition of companies in opposition to any new actions that negatively impact our team, their families and our community.
....

@ktjrichards
https://twitter.com/ktjrichards

Katie Richards is a staff writer for Adweek, where she specializes in covering creative, media and strategy agencies, along with brands and marketing trends.

@Adweek
https://twitter.com/Adweek

* http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/under-armours-star-endorsers-are-coming-out-against-the-ceos-pro-trump-statements/

Read more: http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/under-armour-ceo-runs-a-full-page-ad-in-the-baltimore-sun-addressing-pro-trump-comments/

---

The full letter is at the link.



Full disclosure: I have a ton of the stuff. I buy it at yard sales and so forth. It's way too expensive new. I mean, it's just underwear made of polyester with some elastic thrown in. Anyone can make that.

I have seen the first reply, and I can appreciate your position. I'm going to keep wearing mine. If people dump their UA garments locally, I might end buying some of those.

I wish these guys would stay out of politics. I stopped drinking Yuengling because of Uday/Qusay's visit to the brewery.

Under Armour stock tanked last week, but that happened for other reasons:

[div class"excerpt"]Under Armour Stock Is In Serious Trouble
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/06/under-armour-stock-is-in-serious-trouble.aspx

The stock got hammered after its last earnings report as the company struggles with its next growth phase.

Jeremy Bowman (TMFHobo)

Feb 6, 2017 at 6:27PM

What happens when a company that's reported 26 straight quarters of 20% revenue growth or better suddenly doesn't?

The stock falls off a cliff, of course.

That was the rude awakening for Under Armour (NYSE:UA) (NYSE:UAA) last week after revenue growth in the key fourth quarter came in at just 12%. The stock plummeted 26% -- and this was the second report in a row that's driven shares down more than 20%, as the company has twice dialed down its guidance significantly.
ETA: Oh, there's some blowback in the stock price today because of this debacle. I'll put that story in a reply.

Warning: autoplay video:

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank responds to Trump tempest with letter to Baltimore
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/under-armour-blog/bs-bz-under-armour-plank-letter-20170214-story.html

[blueseas]

1. Will be donating

No need for this...

[NewJeffCT]

2. Interesting - I thought the Rock was a Republican

but he's denouncing a pro turmp statement

[50 Shades Of Blue]

3. Heard you the FIRST time, Mr. Plank.

Heard you loud and clear! But don't worry, since I have never bought your shit in the first place, you aren't exactly losing me as a customer now!

[NurseJackie]

4. Barilla learned a hard lesson, and even though they turned around their anti-Gay rhetoric ...

... they're still paying the price.

I think Underarmor is probably going to discover the same thing. The damage is already done.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Under Armour's stock drops after CEO's 'polarized' political comments prompts analyst downgrade

Under Armour's stock drops after CEO's 'polarized' political comments prompts analyst downgrade

Published: Feb 15, 2017 8:05 a.m. ET

By Tomi Kilgore
Reporter and editor

[e-mail]
@TomiKilgore

Shares of Under Armour Inc. UAA, +0.08% slumped 1.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after Susquehanna Financial slapped a rare bearish rating on the athletic apparel and accessories maker, citing concerns over reputational risk, too-basic apparel and the difficulties of building a lifestyle brand. Analyst Sam Poser downgraded the stock to negative from hold, and slashed his stock price target to $14--36% below Tuesday's closing price--from $24. Only four of the 310 companies covered by Susquehanna (1.3%) had sell ratings through Tuesday. "Commentary by the CEO [Kevin Plank] in a CNBC interview in a polarized political climate, and pointed response by Stephen Curry, The Rock and Misty Copeland make it nearly impossible to effectively build a cool urban lifestyle brand in the foreseeable future," Poser wrote in a note to clients. He said many of Under Armour's key items, like the $55 hoodies, are "too basic and there is no urgency to purchase." The stock has plunged 32% over the past three months, while shares of rival Nike Inc. NKE, -0.18% have rallied 13% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.16% has gained 7.2%.

Read the full story: Under Armour downgraded as CEO’s praise of Trump creates ‘reputational risk’

[cstanleytech]

12. I suspect they would have downgraded it anyway as they are having some other issues though

this guys Trump comments certainly did not help his company.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. I edited the original post to add a link about that.

Thanks for writing.

[dalton99a]

6. Too late. Everyone knows he is a Trump fanboy.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

7. Badly overpriced merchandise that is now trendy "flavor of the week" but that can change rapidly.

[flygal]

8. I wonder if all this push back will cause the business leaders to encourage republicans to run less-

crazy candidates and steer away from the tea party. We outnumber them and our boycotts are working.

[cstanleytech]

13. Not a chance in hell, they like the crazy and they want more of it. nt

[DK504]

9. Kinda hard to walk back your bullshit.

UA was a vocal supporter of Hair Gold Douche. Sorry too expensive work out clothes guy. You are already on the record, suck it up buttercup.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Adweek earlier: Under Armours Star Endorsers Are Coming Out Against the CEOs Pro-Trump Statements

Under Armour’s Star Endorsers Are Coming Out Against the CEO’s Pro-Trump Statements

Misty Copeland, Stephen Curry and The Rock raise objections

By Katie Richards | 6 days ago

Some of Under Armour’s biggest celebrity endorsers—ballet dancer Misty Copeland, NBA star Stephen Curry and Hollywood icon Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—are speaking out against the apparel brand’s CEO for referring to Donald Trump as “a real asset” to American businesses.

In an interview earlier this week with CNBC, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank shared several positive thoughts about Trump as a leader and supporter of corporations:

“He’s highly passionate. To have such a pro-business president is something that’s a real asset to this country,” Plank said on Halftime Report. “I think people should really grab that opportunity. … He wants to build things. He wants to make bold decisions, and he wants to be decisive. I’m a big fan of people who operate in the world of ‘publish and iterate’ versus ‘think, think, think, think.’ so there’s a lot that I respect there.”

His comments led to a flurry of criticisms on Twitter and have now percolated to some of the brand’s top star athletes and performers.
....

@ktjrichards

Katie Richards is a staff writer for Adweek, where she specializes in covering creative, media and strategy agencies, along with brands and marketing trends.

@Adweek

[sarcasmo]

11. Way 2 late 2 backtrack now Kevin, thank Steph Curry for calling this Dcouche out.

[HughBeaumont]

15. " . . . . whenever Policy conflicts with human rights"??

Publicly denouncing Mike Pence any year soon?

"Opportunity" is almost as bad a shallow noun as "prosperity", another Republican favorite. Both are descriptions of possible but unguaranteed conditions; ultimately, they're nothing but empty sales buzzwords mistaken for part of an economic blueprint.

[ascap_scab]

16. Maybe they can buy up the Ivanka Trump line for cheap.

That would surely add to their profits BIGLEY!

[Blue Owl]

17. Blunder Amour

n/t

[nikibatts]

18. Trying to take advantage of a pro-45 bump.

not going to happen if I have anything to do with it.

[safeinOhio]

19. Coming our with a line of

cloths for running backwards.

[Corey_Baker08]

20. I Thought The Rock Was A Die Hard Republican?

I remember him speaking at the RNC...Maybe that was because the Mcmahon family was his only source of income.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

21. Under Armour CEO Frantically Backpedals In Effort To Distance Himself From President Trump

Under Armour CEO Frantically Backpedals In Effort To Distance Himself From President Trump

by Eve Batey in News on Feb 15, 2017 2:00 pm

A week after Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank was roundly drubbed for his glowing remarks about President Donald Trump, Plank wants everyone to know that he didn't really mean it, and like anyone else with an operating moral compass he thinks that at least one of Trump's policies stinks, too.

It's likely been a rough couple days for Plank, who last week told CNBC that he believed that the President was a "real asset...He wants to build things. He wants to make bold decisions and be really decisive."

Plank, who along with Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris, Ford CEO Mark Fields, Dell's Michael Dell, General Electric's Jeff Immelt, Tesla's Elon Musk, U.S. Steel's Mario Longhi, and Boeing's Dennis Muilenburg, is a member of Trump's manufacturing council, said "I'm a big fan of people that operate in the world of 'publish and iterate' versus 'think, think, think, think, think', so there's a lot that I respect there."

When asked about Plank's discription of Trump as an "asset," Golden State Warrior and Under Armour endorsee Steph Curry said "I agree with that description... if you remove the ‘et’.”