Stephen Curry is racing against time to win the favour of sneaker enthusiasts

Stephen Curry is running out of time. The prominent Golden State Warriors guard expressed his desire to continue his National Basketball Association career for another four to five years. Approaching retirement, he is quickly leveraging his athletic successes to expand his brand beyond the sports arena by collaborating with Under Armour Inc., a sportswear manufacturer.

At 35 years old, Curry is considered one of the greatest basketball stars in history. His performance-driven basketball sneakers had a significant role in establishing Under Armour’s prominence in the sport. His attempts to create a product that attracts dedicated sneaker enthusiasts have not matched the success of basketball icons such as Michael Jordan or rising talents like Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball, whose footwear sells more than Curry’s on prominent sneaker platforms like StockX.

Curry talked about his plans for retail before the NBA’s All-Star game in Indianapolis earlier this month. What legacy can I truly leave? Curry, a four-time NBA champion, expressed his desire to continue playing the game at a high level for as long as possible, but also highlighted the possibility to establish greater ownership when heading to his temporary store set up by Under Armour for the All-Star weekend.

Under Armour is heavily reliant on Curry. In March of last year, he extended his contract with the sportswear company to continue their connection beyond just trademark sneakers. He was appointed as the president of the Curry Brand, where he will oversee the sale of streetwear and act as the brand’s spokesperson. The specific financial details were not revealed, although in April he received $75 million in stock as part of his remuneration package, as stated in regulatory filings.

Curry’s participation is crucial for Under Armour’s attempts to revitalise its business following years of slow development. Footwear contributes over 25% of Under Armour’s yearly income, generating nearly $1.5 billion in sales last year. However, it remains well behind Nike Inc. and Adidas AG in this market. The corporation does not provide particular financial data related to Curry, although TD Cowen estimated that the brand contributes up to $250 million in annual sales.

Under Armour’s CEO Stephanie Linnartz, who assumed the position in February, aims to transition the brand into a category she refers to as “sports style,” focusing on casual athletic apparel suitable for daily use. Over the last ten years, Under Armour has been unsuccessful in establishing a notable presence in the thriving streetwear sector, which is renowned for its exclusive releases and highly anticipated partnerships that attract sneaker enthusiasts to wait in long lines.

Linnartz, a former executive of Marriott International Inc., stated that she is currently delving deeply into planning the long-term strategy for the Curry brand. Executives have not established precise sales goals yet. “It will be a crucial component of the Under Armour portfolio,” she stated.

Linnartz has initiated a three-year turnaround plan for Under Armour, focusing on expanding into womenswear and footwear to drive development in its domestic market. In February, the company increased its projected earnings for the entire year but disclosed a 12% decrease in revenue from North America.

All prominent sportswear firms have encountered difficulties in the previous year. Adidas management is attempting to recover expenses by selling remaining shoes from its Yeezy brand, which failed just over a year ago. Nike recently reduced their global staff by approximately 2% in an effort to reduce costs by $2 billion.

Nike holds the most successful sneaker deal ever made with an athlete by a significant margin. Michael Jordan’s brand generates over $5 billion in global sales each year, setting the benchmark in excellence even two decades after his retirement from the NBA. Steph aspires to emulate Mike.

“The Jordan brand is an example of an athlete leveraging their platform and presence to create something remarkable,” stated Curry. “I am attempting to construct my interpretation of that.”

Bloomberg

Nike’s mistake

Under Armour did not always had the best shooter in history on its team. Curry used to endorse the Swoosh brand.

Curry wore Nike trainers while attending Davidson College in North Carolina. He then inked a four-year contract with the largest sportswear business in the world after being chosen by the Warriors as the seventh choice in the 2009 NBA draft.

When the agreement ended, Curry emerged as an All-Star and reached the playoffs for the first time. Nike had the opportunity to retain him. During a retrospective by ESPN, a disorganised presentation by Nike officials, where they mispronounced his name and displayed a slide deck with Kevin Durant’s name, persuaded Curry to choose a different approach.

Curry joined Under Armour in 2013 and introduced his inaugural signature shoe, the Curry I, within two years. The shoe was promoted in advertisements with Jamie Foxx. During the following ten years, Curry won two NBA Most Valuable Player honours and titles, while Under Armour created and released 11 new designs for Curry shoes, with the latest one becoming available in October.

Yet few of those designs won over hardcore sneaker fans. “It is definitely a challenge,” Curry stated. “It is a privilege that must be acquired through effort and experience.”

Currently, there is a demand for Curry’s sneakers in the secondary market, where sneaker enthusiasts trade. Morant, a Memphis Grizzlies guard who has an endorsement deal with Nike, had the best-selling signature basketball shoe in terms of volume on StockX’s resale platform last year, with 40,000 sales. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo from Nike were successful, along with Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic from Jordan. Puma’s Ball and James Harden at Adidas had top sellers too. Curry’s shoe came in 10th, with just over 2,000 transactions.

Footwear designed specifically for playing golf.

Under Armour also plans to develop non-basketball shoes under the Curry name. Designers have so far only dabbled in off-court kicks, with a golf shoe, runners and a line of cushioned trainers touted as soft and cozy.

In apparel, most of Curry’s products are geared toward men and boys, with boxy tees, hoodies and sleeveless shirts, but more women’s clothing is on the way. Curry said there’s “definitely going to be investment” in that space and his wife Ayesha, founder of home goods maker Sweet July, wants to be involved in the process too.

Management is looking abroad for growth as well, trying to take advantage of their star’s global reach, focusing on the UK, France, Spain and especially China. Curry and the Warriors squad have consistently placed among the top spots in basketball popularity polls in China, according to digital agency Mailman Group. He last visited the market with Under Armour in 2019, touring Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai for a series of exhibitions.

New faces

In October, Curry Brand brought on Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox as its first-ever sponsored athlete, with his first signature shoe line set to debut this year. The tactic is from Jordan’s playbook, but with a twist. Jordan was in retirement when he signed Carmelo Anthony as an additional face of his brand and granted him the first-ever non-MJ signature Jordans in 2004. Curry and Fox faced off against each other on the court three times this year.

Curry said he is now trying to recruit more athletes to his label. If his own assessment is correct, he’ll step away from basketball when he’s around 40 years old, the same age Jordan did, and Under Armour’s leading man will no longer be on television under the bright lights of NBA arenas 82 times a year.

Until then, he’ll keep juggling responsibilities. Under Armour’s top management holds a business review with Curry every quarter. Most of the meetings are centered around basketball, but lately they have been discussing more golf, running and fashion. Linnartz said they are considering opening permanent Curry stores, though there are no immediate plans.

After 14 seasons in the league, Curry has accumulated a wide-ranging business portfolio beyond Under Armour. He has a production firm, Unanimous Media, that made shows like ABC’s mini-golf program Holey Moley and the documentary Jump Shot. There’s also his Gentleman’s Cut bourbon label and an early-stage venture capital firm that has invested in startups such as HiveWatch security hardware and micro food hall Local Kitchens. Under Armour, though, is at the top of Curry’s priority list, he said.

“Right now, it’s about setting the foundations,” said Curry. “I want them to be well-oiled machines so when I’m done playing I can spend more time on them and take full advantage of the platform that I had.”