How Under Armour Can Improve Its Curry 3 Sales

Foot Locker’s CEO said something during the retailer’s Q3 conference call that has people wondering if Under Armour’s franchise for NBA superstar Stephen Curry has hit a bump.

“Under Armour is doing a great job investing in their footwear business. The 2 and 2.5 Curry shoes in the third quarter performed well. The 3 is fairly new into the business. It started off a bit slower than the two previous models, but again, it’s early days,” Foot Locker CEO Dick Johnson said during the call.

The Under Armour Curry 3 was unveiled in October, prior to the start of the NBA regular season. The shoe’s first two colorways — “Dub Nation Heritage” and “SC Camo” — were released on Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, respectively.

Under Armour Curry 3 Dub Nation Heritage — Under Armour Curry 3 “Dub Nation Heritage.”

CREDIT: Under Armour

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While there’s no clear answer to why the shoe isn’t performing as well as past shoes in the Curry franchise for the retailer, some believe its higher price point could be a factor.

“We saw many of the marquee Nike franchises come down in price, so the differential between Curry and Nike now is much less than what it was before, when Nike was high and Curry was low,” Matt Powell, global sports industry analyst at The NPD Group, told Footwear News.

The Under Armour Curry 3 retails for $140, up from the $120 price of the Curry One, $130 for the Curry Two, and $135 for the Curry 2.5.

Prior to the release of the Curry 3, Powell said that Under Armour’s franchise for the Golden State Warriors standout was growing robustly. He also said that Under Armour has options for how to boost the latest shoe’s sales.

“One of the ways you might do it is to delay secondary color releases until the first one sells out,” he said. “Oftentimes what happens that prevents a program from selling well is that there’s too much of the old stuff left. This market really thrives on scarcity, so the idea would be to make it more scarce.”