Under Armour’s pivot to growth, w/CEO Stephanie Linnartz

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management, Reid Hoffman, Mindset, Diversity & Inclusion, Jeff Berman, Bob Safian, Startups

4.6 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can you reinvigorate a beloved but troubled brand by applying lessons from a different industry? Under Armour CEO Stephanie Linnartz firmly believes so — and earlier this year made the leap from Marriott to become the first woman to helm a major sports apparel brand.

She joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to talk about how her 25 years with Marriott is giving her unexpected insight as she works to pivot Under Armour back to growth by leaning into sports style, sharper product segmentation, and an amplified emphasis on women as customers.

Stephanie shares why she hired fashion designer John Varvatos, the importance of the Taylor Swift phenomenon for all brands, and what trying every single item in Under Armour's female line taught her.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello listeners, this is Adam Scuse, a writer and producer here at Masters of Scale.
0:06.1	If you're enjoying the Masters of Scale AI series this month, then we have another
0:10.2	podcast that we know you're going to love. It's called What's Your Problem?
0:15.4	Each week host Jacob Goldstein speaks with entrepreneurs and engineers to discuss the future
0:20.9	they're trying to build and the problems they have to solve to get there. You'll hear
0:25.3	from AI experts discussing questions like, what can the Industrial Revolution teach
0:29.7	us about the AI revolution? Can AI tutors help kids learn and more important questions
0:35.8	surrounding this new technology? You can find what's your problem wherever you get
0:40.4	your podcasts.
0:43.2	The competitive landscape in sports apparel and footwear is quite complex. It's not
0:49.8	just Nike and Adidas. There's lots of other smaller players that are growing rapidly.
0:54.1	You know, there's the Lulu's and the Hokas, etc. You're going to see UndoRum or Leaning
0:58.8	more into sports style and shoes. You think about what gives a brand cultural currency.
1:06.2	You very rarely see a line around the block for the latest drop of a hoodie.
1:11.9	I have two teenagers, one of whom is a teenage daughter and I've taken her to a couple
1:16.0	Taylor Swift concerts. So yeah, I can say I've seen the Taylor Swift effect. It's pretty
1:20.9	incredible. You think about that social influence or actress who's sitting court side every
1:26.8	game. How can we leverage opportunities like that to tell our brand story?
1:40.0	That's Stephanie Lennart's CEO of UndoRum. The first woman's CEO of a major sportswear
1:46.2	company, Stephanie took the reins earlier this year coming over from Married International.
1:52.4	UnBob Safian, former editor of Fast Company founder of the Flux Group and host of Masters
1:57.8	of Scale Rapid Response. I wanted to talk with Stephanie because UndoRum is an iconic
	...

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