Under Armour Debuts Their Upcoming Sportswear Collection

$UA is off an running today, and I’ve purchased shares in my long term account. Today, Under Armour Debuts Their Upcoming F/W ’16 Sportswear Collection

During its two decades in existence, Under Armour Inc. has cemented its reputation as a brand all about sports and sweat. Now it wants to add fashion.

The company on Thursday named designer Tim Coppens as executive creative director for a collection dubbed UAS — for Under Armour Sportswear — that will make its debut this fall, according to Ben Pruess, the company’s senior vice president of sportswear. The line will have a preppy look and include men’s and women’s apparel, footwear and accessories. Coppens, a rising star in the fashion world, has his own sporty-chic brand sold in high-end retailers like Barney’s. Items include $395 plaid jogging pants.

Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s founder and chief executive officer, has maintained the company’s rapid annual growth rates of about 25 percent by expanding distribution and entering new categories such as basketball and running shoes. A fashion line may help on both fronts because it could get the brand into non-sports retailers while also giving it a share of the robust sportswear market.

“The brand can’t live up to its fullest expression of itself without capturing this element and this opportunity in the market,” Pruess said in an interview. “It also affords us the opportunity to reach a new consumer.”