Under Armour Basketball - The New Prototype(s): Young Buck! (COUNTERKICKS.com)

[macgyver35]

nice work jw air.

lets see a navy/yellow colorway....

 

[l silky johnston l]

Not for me.

 

[ijustice]

not bad at all, still trying to get used to seeing that big UA logo on the side of a shoe though

 

[jw air]

new colorway Not photoshop

 

[frijo sneaker]

They actually don't look that bad at all.

 

[guerrilla warfare]

^^Blue & white colorway up there wit tha yellow laces....

 

[storm ryder]

Originally Posted by MONTEMEX3

they look kinda heavy, what other technologies can be implemented on basketball shoes?

Looks can be deceiving.
In terms of technology, Under Armour is using all their current running footwear technology in these "Prototype" basketball shoes. The implementationis a bit different, but the technology is there. The performance should be there as well. I expect the actual release shoe to not be quite as "safe"of a design.

 

[intrigant]

where could i cop them?

 

[jreese44]

Under Armour needs to stick to gear, not including shoes!

 

[xxfootwear]

they look ok i guess...Xx...

 

[dark chocolate]

Take the reference to "Young Money" off the shoe, and it gets my vote. Hot look, nice lines and symmetry. I'm def' feelin' it!

 

[bp the owner]

from kenlu,

 

[bradnon]

nothing special to me....
not bad..but not great either...
may try a pair to ball in

 

[storm ryder]

Vegas Summer League:

Black Chrome finish on the DCE plate

Yo BP! Got any PS's for us? You got some decent pics to work with, I wanna see what you can come up with.

 

[physicx]

upon further examination of these,

i have decided they are indeed, dope

but seriously, i didnt like them at first. im def feelin them now though

 

[igoldstoner]

can't wait to get theses.

 

[902kicks]

Under Armour needs to stay in their lane... not knockin the hustle, but still.. do you really think they have a chance? same thing will happen as did to KIXand AND1.. GARBAGE

 

[drdealgood]

I like that they didn't put a hugh UA logo on the lateral side. It looks better on the medial side.

 

[rudy]

pass on these

 

[freakydestroyer]

Originally Posted by 902kicks

Under Armour needs to stay in their lane... not knockin the hustle, but still.. do you really think they have a chance? same thing will happen as did to KIX and AND1.. GARBAGE

And 1 had a chance, they just stopped caring all of a sudden.

 

[cjb23]

it wasnt so much that and1 stopped caring...they were bought out by another company who never cared in the 1st place

UA has a chance, but they need to make sure they know who they should market to

-theyre target audience is 2 pronged
-the 1st is soccer mom/dad buying gear for thier kids- they have become familiar with ua becuase of their kids football/soccer/baseball gear - the brandcrossover to basketball is only natural; price the product in the price range the average parent is willing to spend for their kids gear - MSRP ~$80, but allowretailers to discount down to $65-70 prior to fall/basketball season
-the 2nd is the adult weekend warrior (not the sneaker head) - the guy who absolutley freaks out at the thought of spending $100 on sneakers he'll wear 2days a week at most; again target the MSRP $80-90 range - but allow the retailers to discount to $70-75; give him the impression that this is a higher endproduct along the lines of some of the $100 nikes but he is getting much better value with a lower msrp but even better value with sale prices in the $75 range- same price as low end nikes

-the product must be catered to their audience
-keep the product lines simple - at most 2 models - one guard based, one big man based = dont confuse your target - again, your not targeting the sneakerhead(he is already nike/jb branwashed) who thinks he know zoom vs max air, carbon fiber, cement vs elephant print; your targeting the parent who knows little tonothing of sports tech- make the decision easy - a big man mid/hi built for support /cushion or a guard mid/low built for speed/responsiveness - and leave thediscussion at that
-keep the colorways simple and basic - nothing flashy, but bold placement of traditionnal team colors (red, blue, black, grey) so that they match teamuni's very easily (something very big with moms); again simple colorways wiil appeal most to the weekend warriors as well - chances are he doesnt want toattract attention to shoes, he deonst want people thinking he has more gaem than he really does
-offer team sales/team order exclusive colors - this is HUGE free marketing, but UA should already know this form football/baseball cleats

-choose your retail partners carefully
-the retailers that will push your lines the best are true sporting goods stores not footwear stores
-#@*@$ sporting goods, sports authority, etc - places that carry sporting goods other than shoes - these places tyrpically dont carry higher end nikes/$100+shoes - your product will stand out in these places
-footlocker, champs, finishline - provide them with some product, but dont waste your time with them - youll have minimal visibility compared to the higher endnike/jb they like to push - youll just be lost in the crowd

once youve established the basketball brand ie after 3-4 years then try pushing the tech aspect and $100 price point - youll have a loyal customer base tobuild on (the kids whose parents bought the brand in the 1st place - now high school or college age); enough playground exposure so that the more seriousathletes/sneakerheads may be willing to try something new

 

[mt3130]

i like the simplistic design of these.

 

[drewdioxin]

i agree with cjb, under armour as far as footwear is selling on name alone, and not that well outside of the prototype trainer which I heard is a rather good Xtrainer.

other than that I got the shoes and rtv numbers to show you they are not up to par in running with shox and asics.

do I think shox are better, no not really, but that swoosh being on the side...

 

[storm ryder]

CJB has some good points.

I found this survey at The Channel Checkers:

Under Armour Does Well With Runners

Filed Under Retail


Over the past week, we surveyed $#@%! Sporting Goods locations to gauge trends of Under Armour products for runners specifically. We asked the following questions:

1.

What is the best clothing line you have for runners?
2.

What is the best shoe for running?
3.

What running shoes are on sale? Brand/Model?

*

72% of respondents said that Under Armour was the best clothing line they had for runners. 20% of respondents said Nike. 8% cited Reebok.
*

Under Armour was considered to be the best shoes for running according to 32% of respondents. Nike comes in second as the best running shoes with 28% of respondents. 24% cited Asics.
*

44% of respondents stated that Nike shoes were on sale. 32% said Under Armour. 20% said that all running shoes were on sale.

Conclusion: Based on the survey, results suggest that Under Armour products are most recommended for runners. More than50% answered that Under Armour was the best clothing for runners. When it came down to shoes, Under Armour topped their two competing brands, Nike and Asics with 32% of respondents choosing Under Armour. Overall, Under Armour appears to be performing well in the running segment.





I like Under Armour going with a real "tech" look on all their shoes.
I remember Steez had a post with the top selling shoes, and the Air Max 2009 was #1.
Visible technologies sell to those customers who don't really know their shoes. It allows the customer to see, feel and in a way, understand whatthey're paying for. This way, Under Armour can price their shoes a bit more aggressively and rely on shelf appeal to keep the shoes from going intoclearance type markdowns.

Under Armour needs not "play it safe". Be bold, be daring and take risk. Make heads turn. Make people take notice and make people respect what thebrand is doing and how they do it.

 

[jlking]

look like lebron soldier IIs IMO