Kevin A. Plank
Analyst · Canaccord Genuity
I mean, they've been great. I think the partnerships are -- they're very new. And so we don't know a lot yet. But at the same time, we've had things like opening up our underwear program at 250 Macy's doors. The early reads that we have on that, frankly, are it's where you think you would be. We've got a brand called Under Armour who's based in, who's housed in baselayer and understanding compression and what that means and we should be the #1 player there, and that's the expectation. We've had a modest underwear business that's been successful, I think, in sporting goods where typically underwear has not been purchased, and I'm speaking on the Men's side. And then we introduced it on the Women's side as well and not typically the place where women like to go buy intimates either. And so as we expand ourselves and look at getting to more appropriate distribution, number one, we want to drive within our existing account base, first and foremost, but we see a huge opportunity to take over things like Herald Square in New York. We should be the #1 underwear brand, period. And so that's how we're thinking about it and, again, the #1 player today is hundreds of millions of dollars and I can tell you, our underwear business is not there yet. But based on some of the signs that we're seeing as we become more sophisticated, as we continue to expand our breadth, as we get into the right and appropriate doors, we believe, with every bit of confidence, that we can be that #1 player. So again, I think the story that we have goes beyond underwear. But it's giving us a great ability to really find and test and say, how is this distribution channel appropriate for the Under Armour brand and does the consumer get it. And so again, I want to reiterate is that the partners we've been dealing at the underwear level from the highest executives at Macy's across-the-board is everyone has been very open, very welcoming and really doing things and been a great partner to us. So I think we're excited about what that means. And then some of the other department stores and Nordstrom, they've been consistent. We've had our Women's assortment in there and I think you'll see us open up with some Men's golf and some other things that make sense to the consumer. But again, underscoring all this about without coming back and making sure, I wouldn't say protecting, but continuing to drive our existing account base. So we're not looking to give in anywhere or concede anything. We think we can win in a lot of different places but it means, I think doing it the right way, doing it in a prudent way, and doing it with the right patience and cadence.