The future is ours: Curry and Under Armour want to take them everything

There is no better way to describe the impact that Stephen Curry had on NBA for about two years now than devastating. Exploded after having finally found his physical strength, Curry has seen gradually improved and consolidated his status quo; first as best shooter league, then as MVP, after that the winner of the NBA title, up to the absolute domination of the entire American basketball universe. The NBA seems to have found its new face, a clean face, a nice guy, with a nice family and a bright future ahead of him. Stephen Curry, however, affected not only the Golden State Warriors and the NBA; there is also a third party, that owes the boy form Akron  its incredible commercial success over the last two years: Under Armour.

Founded in 1996 by a then 23 years old Kevin Plank, the UA has followed a business path that could be called "typical" in the American landscape. Plank began tinkering in his mother's basement in Washington, before forming the company in Baltimore, where he played on the football team of the University of Maryland. Just from football and from elastic shirt mesh the business of Under Armour, trademark that spreads quickly through US channels. Up at Warner Brothers, which signed a sponsorship contract with the Plank company for the sponsorship of two films then became iconic: Any Given Sunday with Al Pacino and The  Replacements with Kanuu Reavers.
How he has monopolized a market from nothing, in the same way, Plank, in 2006, thinks he can overturn that area very close to being a monopoly: the sneaker market. The idea, or rather the dream, begins to be more concrete in 2013, when the Under Armour has signed Stephen Curry (one step from signing up for Nike) with a 4 million $ year contract.

New era

"Steph is a talent that comes along once in a generation and has had an unparalleled influence on the game of basketball. His work ethic, his incredible self-confidence, the commitment to the community make Steph the perfect partner for the growth of Under Armour in basketball and in the world, "said Adam Peake - vice president of marketing – during the press conference for the signing of the contract extension that will tie Curry to Under Armour until 2024. Actually, a particular contract and very different from those in circulation between the brand and the stars of the NBA. Indeed, while the LeBron, Rose, Harden, Kobe agreements are all "cash-based" or paid with a normal financial compensation, the Curry one is "earnings-based," i.e. resembles that of managers of large companies, which have a (significant) percentage of their compensation in shares of the company (plus a fixed that in the case under analysis, is expected to amount to approximately 8 million $ per year). It goes without saying that this type of agreement "liability" much more the athlete, who has a vested interest in ensuring that the value of the brand rises: this translates into impeccable behavior on and off the field, in interviews and availability a whole series of "intangibles" in which Curry excels. The results seem to star giving reason to both: while Steph Curry fact puts fire in the NBA parquet (doing things like this, or this), last January Under Armour has surpassed adidas as the second best sports brand in the USA. An exponential success that, according to allegations made by Bloomberg, profits will reach 8 billion by 2018.

The weight of Steph

How much of Steph Curry is there in this exploit? Really a lot. In the last quarter of 2015, the Under Armour has a turnover of over a billion dollars; a frightening number, which is even more impressive when you consider that a large part of those revenues come from an increase in the sale of 95% of the sneaker market. And guess what was the rush release of Under Armour in the last quarter of 2015? The Curry Two. "The sale of Two Curry was something that we had never seen, which is what people say when Steph admire him play," said Plank.

Not only. Quartz reports that in a statement issued by Morgan Stanley to clients last week, the US economic giant expects revenues from the sale of Curry signature exceed -within the end of the year - those of the King, LeBron James; making him the player in business to sell more signatures. "Currently the Currys are already sold more of LeBrons, but this could be partly due to the sale price (130 $) significantly lower than the Cleveland 23 Nike ($ 200)." Ironically, the two are not only born in the same suburb of Ohio (state where Plank opened the first factory UA), Akron, but also in the same hospital.

Curry Two

The last of Curry signature was released last September, entering the market in October. Booting from the Warriors' record has placed particular emphasis on Dubnation staining (the nickname of fans Golden State) and since then releases begun to occur in a totally unusual timing for the Baltimore company. By Curry Black History Month wore in Christmas - with whom he has just paved the Cavs’ Lebron James - to Haight-Ashbury, inspired by the famous hippie neighborhood of the nearby San Francisco, all Curry 2 bring a dowry midsole "Charged" and the upper specification of the EU, which make it particularly suitable for fast game like Curry one.

In a beautiful editorial on Curry One, Complex reported statements of the first meeting between Sonya Curry (mother of Steph) and the engineers of the UA. "I just want you to hold my child safe from accidents," he said, mother, Sonya, preoccupied by the fragile physical condition of the firstborn. "Do not worry, we will do much more than that." At a guess, the promise should be retained.