Under Armour Is On The Rise

These past 2 years or so, I have noticed the rise and rise of Under Armour in Singapore. This is a refreshing addition to dominant players such as Adidas, Nike, Reebok and Puma in the sports industry. It is commendable, too, for a relative newbie to make inroads.

Necessity has been said to be the mother of invention while a problem solved can be turned into an opportunity.

According to Wikipedia, "As a fullback at the University of Maryland, Kevin Plank got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts worn under his jersey; however, he noticed that his compression shorts worn during practice stayed dry. This inspired him to make a T-shirt using moisture-wicking synthetic fabric.

After graduating from the University of Maryland, Kevin Plank developed his first prototype of the shirt, which he gave to his Maryland teammates and friends who had gone on to play in the NFL. Plank soon perfected the design creating a new T-shirt built from microfibers that wicked moisture and kept athletes cool, dry, and light."

From the looks of it, Under Armour (UA) products are of high quality with tasteful design and colour, and a logo which looks as solid as it comes for their motto "Protect this house." 

Incidentally, UA logo reminds me of a Samurai headgear and the use of "under" is clever in conveying that whenever you don an UA apparel or gear, you are protected by an "armour" just like the warrior-class Samurai.

As gleaned from https://www.underarmour.com/en-us , the background story is as follows:-

"It started with a simple plan to make a superior T-shirt. A shirt that provided compression and wicked perspiration off your skin rather than absorb it. A shirt that worked with your body to regulate temperature and enhance performance.

Founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, Under Armour is the originator of performance apparel - gear engineered to keep athletes cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice or workout. The technology behind Under Armour's diverse product assortment for men, women and youth is complex, but the program for reaping the benefits is simple: wear HeatGear® when it's hot, ColdGear® when it's cold, and AllSeasonGear® between the extremes.

Under Armour’s mission is to make all athletes better through passion, design and the relentless pursuit of innovation."

It may have taken a while for Under Armour to reach the shores of Singapore, but the passion and innovation behind this brand will ensure that it will get bigger and stronger not just in Singapore, but the rest of the world, too. 

Pet Food Business Dream: Jerel Kwek and His Addiction

[This article is a digest of "Dogged Climb to Make Success of Pet Project" by Wong Kim Hoh, The Sunday Times, 16 June 2013]


Profile / Background of Mr Jerel Kwek

In spite of having set up three tech businesses, Mr Kwek wanted to do something scalable like having products which have cross-market appeal. He decided on pet food because his two biggest passions are animals and food.

His maternal grandmother Laura Tan founded 3 Aces which went on to become Singapore's largest outdoor bus banner agency while his mother Jayne Kwek is the chief executive of MooveMedia, the advertising unit of ComfortDelgro.

As a kid, he was enthused to hear of the challenges that his grandmother and mother had encountered in their businesses.

During school holidays, he interned at various businesses -- learning something new, exploring and meeting people in a working environment, which was fun for him.

He garnered his Web skills from reading books and magazines, and started his first company Imagine Multimedia while doing his first year of studies at National Junior College.

He put his studies at Wharton business school on hold and went on to start two more IT businesses: MyAngel.com e-recruitment and Relevanz knowledge management with specialisations in intranet portals and digitalising contents.

In 2001, at 22, he was one of the two young men who received the inaugural IT Youth Award by the Singapore Computer Society.

Unique Selling Proposition / How he did it

At 23, he invested SGD 6,000.00 of his savings to start a pet food company together with a veterinarian and animal nutritionist in Singapore. Today, Addiction is a multimillion-dollar global business with its own manufacturing plant in New Zealand and hires more than 40 people across three countries. Its range of products are sold in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, United States, Canada and Japan.

Instead of the usual suspects (such as chicken, beef or lamb), Addiction uses premium proteins and high quality wild game meats which have richer nutrients, hypoallergenic and easier to digest such as brushtail possum, kangaroo, venison, salmon, eel, rabbit, duck, buffalo, sweet potatoes and blueberries.

His company developed products no one else has and was therefore able to get a premium in the market place. It was a first-mover in the use eco-friendly meat and low-temperature processing to produce an array of raw dehydrated food.

As Mr Kwek has said, "New Zealand is the cleanest place in the world to produce pet food. There is free-range meat, there is no mad cow, or foot and mouth disease, there are stringent checks by the New Zealand Food and Safety Authority. We have unfettered access to any place in the world by producing our food in New Zealand because the reputation is so good."

Character / Attributes/ Business philosophies/ Secrets for success

Kwek-speaks:

"A setback is a set-up for a comeback. In my 10 years, I've had many setbacks -- customers who don't pay on time, suppliers who close down, equipment which break down. It's so easy to be discouraged but you have to transcend that."

"I'm constantly told by people that things cannot be done but I don't take 'no' for an answer. It's a matter of time and resources and your ingenuity."

"I just love the challenge of building the business. I love the idea of operating at different altitudes every day."

"I can't switch off. Before I go to bed, I make a list of what I have to do. Sometimes I get the solutions in my dreams."

Click here to access Addiction Pet Foods.


Bibliography:

The Sunday Times, 16 June 2013, "Dogged Climb to Make Success of Pet Project" by Wong Kim Hoh