Under Armour expands formats in Brazil with first store in high-income mall in São Paulo. American brand operated by Vulcabras in the country debuts in the format at Villa Lobos; to Bloomberg Línea, Under Armour's general manager in Brazil Jefferson Lemos treats the unit as a learning stage focused on higher ticket. July 24, 2026 | 06:15 PM Bloomberg Línea - Under Armour, owner of the cleats worn by player Ferran Torres, who scored Spain's winning goal in the World Cup, decided to open its first shopping mall store in Brazil in October. The American sportswear, footwear, and accessories brand chose Shopping Villa Lobos in São Paulo for its new bet. The company already operates six outlet stores in the country. To Bloomberg Línea, Jefferson Lemos, Under Armour's general manager in Brazil, said the unit will be the first outside the outlet format, shifting the operation from discount to full-price retail. Brand management in Brazil is handled by Vulcabras (VULC3), owner of Olympikus and representative of Japan's Mizuno. The address is an asset of Allos (ALOS3), one of the largest mall managers in Latin America. According to the first-quarter balance sheet, Allos holds 63.4% of Villa Lobos, which has 28,394 m^2 of GLA (Gross Leasable Area) and occupancy of 96.1%. Inaugurated in 2000, the mall is located in Alto de Pinheiros, a high-income neighborhood in the west zone, but defines itself as a neighborhood mall, with a fashion mix concentrated on national brands. Villa Lobos is undergoing renovation in 2026, with modernization of the main circulation corridor (promenade) and a new gastronomic boulevard integrated with the neighboring building. The arrival of a global brand with a higher ticket adds to the effort to raise the mix and profitability of a mature asset, in a quarter where the manager reported total sales of R$ 9.46 billion, up 4.7% year-over-year. The move follows a transition in sportswear retail, in which foreign brands are shifting from reliance on multi-brand stores and wholesale to own stores in São Paulo. Swiss brand On opens a store at JK Iguatemi, from Iguatemi (IGTI11), and at MorumbiShopping, from Multiplan (MULT3), after years restricted to e-commerce and multi-brand stores. In the latter mall, a construction sign signals a future operation by Track&Field, a Brazilian sportswear brand. At JK and Morumbi, stores of Franco-American Hoka already operate with lines of footwear, apparel, and sports accessories. Learning stage. Lemos describes the store less as a point of sale and more as an operation lab, a test before any expansion plans. "We are opening the store to learn how to operate even more in detail, to discover the nuances of the business, so that we have a natural growth process," he said. The Brazilian learning contrasts with the moment of the parent company. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Baltimore, Under Armour is going through the fourth restructuring in its history. In the fiscal year ended in March, global revenue fell 4% to US$ 5 billion, with an 8% drop in North America and a 22% increase in Latin America, the region that grows the most for the brand. The 25% reduction in the product portfolio in two years summarizes the strategy: shrink to reposition at a higher price. The mismatch between a contracting parent company and an expanding subsidiary stems from the operating model. In Brazil, Vulcabras defines the channels, manufactures part of the line, and manages the Under Armour brand alongside Olympikus and Mizuno. The own retail thesis, capital, and risk belong to the licensee. Vulcabras closed the first quarter with recurring net profit of R$ 86.1 million, down 18.9%, and record revenue of R$ 776.4 million, the 23rd consecutive quarter of growth. The company's stock (VULC3) closed at R$ 13.81 on July 23, compared to around R$ 20 at the start of the year, and the partnership with Under Armour completes ten years in 2028. Much of the portfolio comes from Asia, especially China, which pushes prices up, and production by Vulcabras, in its innovation center in Parobé, Rio Grande do Sul, brings back competitiveness to footwear designed for the Brazilian consumer. There are 16 models conceived in the country, heading to 18, among them the Non-stop and Endless, which debuted in April in the performance line. "Today, our Under Armour footwear often originates in Asia, often in China, and that makes their average ticket higher," said Lemos, who did not disclose the average price or expected ticket for the store. The store translates this dual origin, global and local, into an edited showcase. There will be 250 to 300 SKUs (unique code that inventory assigns to each combination of model, color, and size), compared to over a thousand on the website, with 80% of the area devoted to apparel and accessories and 20% to footwear. Prices range from R$ 359 to R$ 1,999, the range of the Velocity Elite 3, a global running model, and the network totals 4,000 points of sale in the country. "On our website we have an infinite shelf, more than a thousand SKUs. For the store, we will work with between 250 and 300, very well qualified, showing what the brand has in terms of technological novelty, innovation, and performance," he said. Consumer change. The own store also responds to a shift in habit. Sports consumption has stopped being an event and become routine, with running and training at the center. Lemos says training and gym are the second most practiced physical activity in the country, second only to walking, and plans to use the space to showcase technologies currently restricted to the website, such as the StealthForm cap and the No Weigh Backpack. For him, e-commerce is a convenience channel, and the store is an experience channel. Three sports brands under the same manager raise the question of cannibalization, especially among Under Armour, Olympikus, and Mizuno, which compete for the same aisle and the same gym. Lemos maintains that the positions do not overlap and cites more than 20 consecutive quarters of group growth. "In our portfolio we have complementary brands. Each brand has a role and a function, and there is no cannibalization," he said. In the global portfolio, running and training concentrate Brazilian demand, while American football and golf weigh more abroad. The brand does not have a line for tennis, a sport on the rise in the country.

Under Armour taps François Arnaud as ambassador for HeatGear push. Under Armour names François Arnaud ambassador, tying HeatGear to entertainment culture while prioritizing existing products and sharper brand storytelling. When a show crosses over from "people are watching" to "people are noticing the details," brands start showing up in the storyline almost like characters. That is the lane Under Armour is stepping into with François Arnaud, whose role in hockey romance series Heated Rivalry has put Under Armour gear on-screen in a way that feels more like lived-in wardrobe than product placement. Under Armour named Under Armour named François Arnaud a global brand ambassador effective July 23, with the details outlined in the company's newsroom post. His first campaign, "For When It's Hot," spotlights the HeatGear franchise during what the brand describes as historically North America's hottest week of the year. Table of contents. Jump to each section: Why HeatGear is showing up through entertainment right now. Arnaud is not being positioned as a traditional athlete endorser. The partnership is built around the overlap between performance identity and culture, specifically a character that audiences have already associated with training, sport, and Under Armour gear. That matters because fandom attention works differently from standard awareness. When viewers get attached to a character, they also get attached to the visual cues that build the character's world, including what they wear while training. Under Armour is effectively treating that "wardrobe recognition" as a credibility signal, then extending it into a campaign that still feels like training content, not a glossy endorsement. What Under Armour is actually putting in the spotlight. "For When It's Hot" is framed around HeatGear, but the campaign also highlights several specific products across the franchise: UA Vanish Elite, UA Icon Fleece, UA Sola, and UA Reign XT. Creatively, the first spot shows Arnaud working out in Under Armour gear in a garage, with neighbors watching. It is a simple setup, but that simplicity is the point: it keeps the focus on what people notice in hot-weather training, which is comfort, sweat, and whether the gear looks like it belongs in a real workout. Under Armour's messaging around Arnaud also leans into "authenticity" and self-definition, with the brand's leadership tying the character's arc to the idea that "the best athletes perform with confidence, conviction and authenticity." The business signal: bigger spend, narrower product story. Under Armour has said it spends roughly US$500 million a year on marketing and is investing an additional US$30 million this year. What is notable is not just the extra spend, but the emphasis on focusing marketing on products that already exist, rather than trying to lead with brand-new items. The HeatGear franchise is positioned as core to the brand's training ethos, and the company has also described a major SKU reduction effort completed in May, with further assortment culling planned. In other words, the brand is trying to sound clearer, not louder: fewer products, more consistent storytelling, and campaigns that can carry performance credibility without needing constant newness. What this means for marketers. Entertainment tie-ins work best when they start from what audiences already noticed, then formalize it without breaking the illusion. * Treat "organic spotting" as a strategy input, not a happy accident Under Armour explicitly called out recognizing Arnaud wearing the brand "organically." For marketers, this is a reminder to watch for authentic usage moments and build from them, instead of forcing a fit. * Use cultural credibility to reframe product basics HeatGear is not a novelty product story. It is performance basics. The cultural layer gives Under Armour a way to make familiar franchise items feel current again without changing the product narrative. * Keep the creative world grounded when the promise is performance A garage workout with neighbors watching is relatable and visual. It reinforces "this is what training looks like," which pairs well with an apparel franchise centered on heat and sweat. * Bigger budgets land better when the story gets narrower Under Armour's leadership framed added spend as a path to efficiency, while also emphasizing sharper storytelling behind fewer products. The combination signals a shift toward disciplined creative focus rather than broader messaging. When performance brands borrow cultural momentum, the real risk is looking like they are chasing attention. This move works because it is anchored in an existing on-screen association and because the campaign stays close to the training reality Under Armour wants to own. It also points to a bigger pattern: brands are increasingly using entertainment not to "enter culture" in a vague way, but to validate specific product stories with communities who already care about the details. The most effective partnerships are the ones where fans feel like the brand simply noticed what they already noticed, and decided to show up properly. This article is created by humans with AI assistance, powered by ContentGrow. Ready to automate your content marketing? Book a discovery call today. Apply this article to your work Tell Contentgrip who you are - Contentgrip'll turn this into specific next steps for you. The more specific, the sharper your insights. 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Under Armour style guide: signature codes, quality and is it worth it? Under Armour built its name on moisture-wicking compression gear for serious training. An honest look at HeatGear and ColdGear, build quality, and whether it earns a place over Nike, Gymshark or Lululemon. Under Armour was founded specifically to solve one problem: a moisture-wicking undershirt that performed better than cotton for athletes training hard enough to sweat through it. That founding focus still shapes the brand today. Where competitors like Gymshark and Lululemon have leaned increasingly into fashion crossover, Under Armour has stayed closer to its performance roots, which makes it a slightly different proposition to evaluate: less about how it looks off the training ground, more about how it performs on it. This guide covers the brand's core fabric technologies, how the build quality holds up under genuine training use, and whether the performance-first focus is worth it if you also want the pieces to work as everyday wear. The signature codes. HeatGear and ColdGear. Under Armour's two flagship fabric technologies are built for opposite conditions: HeatGear is a lightweight, moisture-wicking compression fabric designed to keep athletes cool and dry in warm conditions, while ColdGear uses a brushed inner fabric to trap heat without adding bulk. Both are genuine technical fabrics rather than marketing terms, and the brand's testing and iteration on moisture-wicking performance is arguably its strongest, most defensible claim to quality relative to more fashion-led competitors. Compression fit. Under Armour's core training lines run compressive by design, intended to support muscles during movement and reduce fatigue, similar in principle to Gymshark's seamless range but generally with a firmer, more overtly "performance" feel rather than a softer everyday fit. Minimal, function-first branding. The brand's logo - interlocking U and A - is compact and consistent across the range, and Under Armour has generally avoided the fashion-collaboration route that's blurred the identity of some competitors, keeping its design language squarely functional. Quality and durability, honestly assessed. HeatGear and ColdGear fabrics hold up well under genuine training use - repeated sweating, washing and stretching - and the moisture-wicking performance remains noticeably better than basic cotton or unbranded synthetic alternatives even after a year or more of regular wear. Compression fit garments do lose some of their firmness over time, which is standard across the compression category rather than specific to Under Armour, and is worth expecting rather than treating as a defect. Stitching and seam construction on the core training lines is solid and consistent, a fair reflection of the brand's performance-sport origins rather than a fashion-first design process. As with any technical activewear, cost-per-wear is worth calculating properly - see its cost-per-wear formula - before comparing prices across brands. Sizing runs true to size for most lines, though compression pieces specifically are meant to fit snugly and shouldn't be sized up for comfort, since that defeats the purpose of the compression itself - a distinction worth understanding before assuming a snug fit is a sizing error, following the same logic in its general quality check guide. Who Under Armour actually suits. The clearest fit is someone training consistently - several sessions a week of gym work, HIIT or general conditioning - who wants reliable moisture-wicking performance without paying a premium for fashion crossover they won't use. It's a weaker fit for anyone whose activewear budget also needs to cover casual, everyday wear, where the compression-first, function-over-form design reads more overtly "gym" than competitors built with crossover in mind from the outset. Being honest about which category you actually need avoids paying for performance features that go untested, or conversely, buying a fashion-led piece that can't keep up with genuinely demanding training. Is it worth it? At roughly £25-£45 for core compression and training pieces, Under Armour undercuts both Lululemon and Gymshark's premium lines while delivering genuinely strong moisture-wicking performance, which makes the cost-per-wear case straightforward for anyone training regularly and prioritising function. Where the value case weakens is in everyday, off-training wear: Under Armour's more purely performance-oriented design doesn't cross over into casual or smart-casual outfits as naturally as Sweaty Betty's fashion-forward prints or Lululemon's softer, more lifestyle-friendly lines, so pieces bought here are more likely to be confined to actual training use rather than pulling double duty. If your activewear budget is specifically for training performance rather than a wardrobe piece that also needs to work at brunch, Under Armour is a genuinely strong value pick. Which pieces to buy first. Start with a HeatGear compression top or leggings for warm-weather training - it's the clearest expression of the brand's core technology and the easiest way to test whether the compression fit suits your training style. Add a ColdGear base layer for colder months if you train outdoors regularly; the brushed inner fabric is a genuine step up from a standard base layer in cold, low-intensity conditions like winter running. Be more selective with the brand's looser, lifestyle-adjacent pieces, where the quality edge over cheaper competitors is less pronounced than in the core technical range. Care and washing. Moisture-wicking performance fabric degrades faster with fabric softener and high heat drying than most people expect, since both coat and damage the fibres responsible for pulling sweat away from skin. Cold washes and air drying preserve HeatGear and ColdGear's core performance for considerably longer, and turning garments inside out before washing reduces pilling from friction against zips and rougher fabrics sharing the same wash load. This matters more for a performance brand like Under Armour than for a fashion-first activewear label, since the entire value proposition rests on the fabric technology continuing to work as advertised, not just looking presentable. The preloved angle. Under Armour resells modestly compared with more fashion-forward activewear brands, since its performance-first positioning means less demand from buyers looking for everyday wear rather than training kit specifically. It's still a reasonable secondhand buy for anyone specifically wanting HeatGear or ColdGear pieces at a discount, provided the compression fit hasn't visibly loosened, which is the main sign of wear to check for. Where the brand sits against dedicated running specialists. For anyone specifically training for distance running, it's worth comparing Under Armour against running-first specialists like Reebok's training range and dedicated running brands, which are built around biomechanics and terrain-specific grip rather than general gym performance. Under Armour's strength is broad training versatility - gym sessions, HIIT, general conditioning - rather than the highly specific technical demands of marathon training or trail running, where a specialist brand usually has a genuine edge. Matching the brand to the specific training context, rather than assuming one performance brand covers every use case equally well, is the more useful way to think about the purchase. How to style Under Armour from your own wardrobe. Under Armour's performance-first design means it works best kept relatively separate from smart-casual or everyday outfits, rather than forced into crossover the way Sweaty Betty's prints or a Scuba hoodie might be. A HeatGear top under a zip-up hoodie for a gym-to-errands transition is a realistic use case; expecting compression leggings to read as an evening outfit is a harder sell than with more fashion-oriented competitors. That's not a criticism so much as a reflection of what the brand is actually optimised for. If you're weighing whether a piece like this earns its place, given it's less likely to double up outside training, logging it in a digital wardrobe alongside your other activewear makes the comparison concrete - Stylovis can track how often a given piece is actually worn against its cost, which is a more honest way to judge value than assuming all activewear purchases are equally versatile. Yes, particularly the HeatGear and ColdGear technical fabrics, which hold up well under genuine training use and remain effective at moisture-wicking well beyond a year of regular wear. Generally true to size, though compression pieces are meant to fit snugly by design and shouldn't be sized up for comfort. Both offer strong value; Under Armour leans more purely performance-focused, while Gymshark's seamless range has slightly more everyday crossover potential. Does Under Armour work as everyday wear, not just for training? Less naturally than more fashion-forward competitors. It's a strong pick specifically for training performance rather than a wardrobe piece intended to double as casual wear. Frequently asked questions. Is Under Armour good quality? Is Under Armour true to size? Is Under Armour worth it compared to Gymshark? Does Under Armour work as everyday wear?