Nearing the completion of a multi-year, $525 to $550 million restructuring, and 10 days after disclosing that short-term challenges will impact its sales, profitability, and margins for much of 2022, Under Armour late on May 18 appointed Colin Browne as its interim president and CEO, effective June 1. On that date, Patrik Frisk will step down as president and chief executive officer and as a member of Under Armour’s board of directors.
Frisk joined the company in 2017 as COO. He came from the Aldo Group, a Montréal-based chain of more than 1,700 corporate and franchised shoe stores, and previously spent 10 years at VF Corp, where he most recently led the outdoor coalition in the Americas. Before that, he held management roles at Peak Performance and W.L. Gore & Associates.
Along with CFO David Bergman, Frisk was instrumental in driving Under Armour’s restructuring efforts at a time when company founder and CEO Kevin Plank was beginning to retire from day-to-day operations. A few months after joining, Frisk became president of the company. In the fall of 2019, Plank announced a leadership transition that saw Frisk become CEO on Jan. 1, 2020, while Plank became executive chairman. Frisk soon named Browne COO and promoted Paul Fipps to chief experience officer. When the Covid pandemic began, it upset the company’s slow turnaround process but also gave Frisk a chance to launch a much more aggressive, half-billion-dollar restructuring plan. In doing so, he became the architect of a strategic plan, which underscored the company’s commitment to athletic performance by redesigning its structure, systems and go-to-market process.
With Frisk leaving the now largely restructured company, the board has initiated an extensive internal and external search process to find a permanent president and CEO. It has appointed COO Browne as interim president and CEO until a successor is named, effective June 1. To assist with the transition, Frisk will remain with Under Armour as a consultant until Sept. 1, 2022.
Since joining the company in 2016, Browne has modernized Under Armour’s digital marketing strategy and DTC model and transformed the supply chain organization, resulting in significant margin improvement and operational efficiencies. Since 2020, Browne has served as COO, responsible for supply chain, global planning, sustainability, information technology, enterprise data management, commercial optimization, go-to-market strategy and sales. Browne has been an integral part of the company’s transformation, and his leadership has been critical to addressing the global supply challenges caused by the pandemic.
Plank, founder, executive chairman and brand chief of the company, said: “As we transition, we are committed to identifying additional opportunities to drive improved returns for our shareholders and deliver for athletes, partners, and teammates. There is a huge opportunity in front of us. I look forward to working closely with the board during the search process to find our next leader who will take us to new heights. In the meantime, we are moving forward and will continue to connect with athletes in exciting ways, offering them exactly what they need when they need it.”
Under Armour shares have fallen nearly 42 percent since the start of 2022, closing at $10.53 a share on May 18 with a market cap of about $4.65 billion. On May 8, the company forecasted 5 to 7 revenue year-over-year revenue growth from the $5.7 billion recorded in the comparable year-ago period stretching from April 1 until March 31, 2023. At the time, financial year operating income was estimated at $300 to $375 million, some 5.7 to 11.5 percent below $424 million from the prior period, resulting in an operating margin range of 6.0 to 6.5 percent versus 7.4 percent. Under Armour has said it will spend more on air freight during the first nine months of calendar 2022, a factor that will impact gross margins during the period. During a three-month “stub period” that ended March 31, the EMEA region paced the brand’s segments with 18 percent revenue growth to $228.1 million and a 14 percent increase in operating income to $30.3 million.
SGI Europe had the chance to speak with Frisk at the first Swedish Sport Industry Day (Sportbranchens Dag) in Bosön at the end of April when his departure from the company was not yet public. You can read the interesting interview here on our channel.
