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Product cover image for Stephanie Linnartz at Under Armour: Reigniting Growth

Stephanie Linnartz at Under Armour: Reigniting Growth

Heechun Kim

Product #:W37100
Supplier:Ivey/Haskayne
Discipline:Strategy
Setting:United States, 2024
Details:Case (PDF) • 26 pages • 2025-02-20

Subjects:

Business growthTurnaroundsLeadership and managing peopleManagement

Industries:

Media, entertainment, and professional sports

Geography:

United StatesNorth America
Your Price:$10.54

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Delving into the evolution of Under Armour Incorporated (UA) from a promising contender in the sportswear industry to a company that aggressively pursued adjacency expansions to fuel its growth, only to encounter a failed growth strategy, this case outlined the corporate turnaround of UA under the leadership of Stephanie Linnartz. Linnartz joined the company as chief executive officer CEO on February 27, 2023, and embarked on a three-year turnaround strategy dubbed “protect this house 3.” On February 27, 2024, after a year at the helm, Linnartz found herself confronted with a difficult situation: UA’s shares had declined by about 8 per cent to US$8.89. Balancing the core and adjacencies while addressing the company’s immediate financial concerns posed a formidable challenge for the CEO’s leadership.

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in general management and strategy. It can be used to introduce students to concepts such as blue ocean strategy, corporate growth through adjacencies, corporate transformation, and turnaround strategy. After analyzing UA’s growth and adjacency expansion strategy from its founding in September 1996 until February 2024, students are going to be able to do the following:
  • Understand how to grow companies faster and more profitably by expanding into adjacent markets in a more disciplined way.
  • Appreciate the paradox between rigidly adhering to and overly catering to core customers amidst evolving market dynamics.
  • Understand why digital transformation initiatives often fail.
  • Observe how struggling companies execute turnaround initiatives to reignite growth.
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Case Study: Stephanie Linnartz at Under Armour: Reigniting Growth (English version) | Ivey Publishing