Comments on: Lacrosse Industry Rumblings: Nike Buying Under Armour?

By: New Gear! New Lacrosse Companies! So Many Exclamation Marks! - Sweet Sweet Lax

New Gear! New Lacrosse Companies! So Many Exclamation Marks! - Sweet Sweet Lax — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:06:00 +0000

[...] photos of one of their new Heads. I am definitely interested to hear some new developments on the Nike/ Under Armour situation. Strong resemblance look-wise to some Gait products, but from the one photo, it looks decent. [...]

By: Cam

Cam — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:03:00 +0000

To answer that last question, Nike probably wants the Under Armour brand for it’s base products- compression shorts, turtlenecks, heat gear and skull caps. UA basically mainstreamed the products that are becoming more often seen on boring people doing normal stuff like jogging, skiing, hunting, or serving in the military than on a high school sports field. My friends and I seem to rarely purchase these products from Nike or cheaper imitators, preferring Under Armour. I see the buyout as a synergy move and I don’t see UA footwear or lacrosse gear surviving. This is just a guess and I could be completely wrong!

They’re probably under a lot of pressure not to sell. I feel like people in Baltimore are so proud that UA is a baltimore company.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:10:00 +0000

So I take it you’re a fan of GM and Ford actually owning all the smaller brands, I take it?
Fair enough! An argument can certainly be made for your case…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:08:00 +0000

I must say… I have an Elite 10 head, Nike SC sprint shaft, Nike Vapor Elite gloves… and all are good products. While what @twitter-105419701:disqus says is true, in that a lot of the their stuff is very similar to STX gear, the two are actually pretty separate. I think Nike actually has a very bright future with lacrosse if they stick with it full bore.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:05:00 +0000

I really doubt they would buy them and shut them down. Adidas owns Reebok, they didn’t shut them down. Warrior owns Brine. New Balance owns Warrior. Bauer owns Maverik. it goes on and on. You buy a company to invest in them, if you want to shut them down, you do other stuff.

By: Chewy

Chewy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Same theory, better brands…

By: Chewy

Chewy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:07:00 +0000

If Nike wanted to, they could just “redesign” the current product offered by the current manufacturers and source out the same companies to co-produce the equipment.

And to echo what Emmett said, STX has been helping Nike to put out some legit lacrosse gear.

By: emmett faricy

emmett faricy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:20:00 +0000

New Balance owns both Brine and Warrior. Same theory with the diverse pull though.

By: emmett faricy

emmett faricy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:18:00 +0000

just a heads up most of nikes stuff is just rebranded equipment designed by STX

By: LaxBabe

LaxBabe — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:01:00 +0000

More likely than not, if this all goes through, Nike will buy UA and close them…

By: Dlaxer10

Dlaxer10 — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:57:00 +0000

Whether or not that happens I do not believe that Nike will ever have the REAL Lacrosse products like Warrior, Brine, Maverick, Gait and even Stx. While Nike kills in products like clothing helmets pads and sticks are just something they don’t have. Warrior and Brine are without a doubt the leaders of Lacrosse and I hope that never changes because they make fantastic products.

By: Chewy

Chewy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:17:00 +0000

I think that IF and WHEN this happens, it will be a great thing for lacrosse. I think this would put a real challenge to the MLL/Warrior/Brine relationship if not the MLL in a whole. What will happen if Nike decides to start of league of their own, but not give itself brand exclusivity? They can afford to keep it open to other brands, which would create a more marketable athlete and team, when they can somewhat create their own endorsement deals.

Nike/UA would probably get most of the shoe deals, because when it comes to kicks… NIKE has that market on lock.

And isnt Rabil still a UnderArmour guy?!?! If so, where would his marketing allegiances lie because we all know that Nike could easily buyout anything Warrior had on the table.

Nike has done relatively well, in “sharing” some of its top athletes… so this might create a Nike/UA/STX type of relationship that could work with an athlete like Kyle Harrison. K18 sportin’ Huaraches, UA shorts/shirts, and STX and Nike LAX gear? I could see it.

What this would also do is create a NEW type of marketing campaign for NIKE/UA. Nike is the staple in the world of athletic gear and apparel, Under Armour has taken control of “younger” market of athletes… Warrior/Brine better watch out! And just for fun I think Nike should purchase Maverik as well, but still leave it as it’s own separate brand… Just a thought.

-Chewy