Nike Inc

LULU’s global store count was estimated at 289 at the end of 3Q15. Stores are company-owned, with most located in the US (201) and Canada (57).

LULU’s sale through wholesale channels is much lower than its competitors VF Corporation, NIKE, and Under Armour. This is why LULU’s margins are higher.

For relatively new companies competing in an industry with many players, building a well-recognized and reputed brand is essential.

In this series, we’ll provide an overview of Lululemon Athletica, its financials (including its latest quarterly results), and its strategies.

Porter’s 5 Forces, developed by Harvard Business professor M. Porter, is a model of analysis used to gauge the level of competition within an industry.

Under Armour: Sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution decisions Under Armour, Inc. (UA) manufactures virtually nothing in-house. Production is outsourced to third-party manufacturers overseas. This is common practice in the apparel industry among companies including the The Gap, Inc. (GPS) and Fossil, Inc. (FOSL). These companies are held by the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY), as are United Armour, or […]

Under Armour’s stock price growth has been phenomenal—up by over 10x in the last five years. This dwarfs the ~200% increase seen by market leader NIKE.

Consumer confidence is an economic indicator. It measures how confident consumers are about the overall state of the economy. It also measures how confident people feel about their income’s stability. Their confidence impacts their economic decisions—like their spending activity.