2017 was not an easy year for Under Armour, as the stock fell over 50%. Jim Mollica, Head of Global Consumer Engagement and Digital Marketing at Under Armour, discusses how the company is using technology to revitalize the brand.
Mollica shares the company's strategy to improve sales and get young people excited about the Under Armour brand. He says they are focusing on creating a performance-based product that has an element of style. Under Armour wants to elevate its story-telling and digital content with athletes and games, to help engage people around the brands.
To bring the integration of sports and technology to the next level, Under Armour will launch a new smart shoe at CES using a new cushion technology called HOVR. Mollica explains that the tech creates an energy web that reduces wear and tear and stress during workouts.
Ron Gutman, Co-CEO of Intrivo, joins Cheddar News to discuss how the company is creating a test and tech solution for Covid testing called 2Gather, and how it's using data-driven digital diagnostics to make these tests widely available and affordable.
The metaverse took the world by storm in 2021 and it is just the beginning of the virtual universe. Consumers are jumping on board and companies like Meta and Roblox are already taking advantage. Entrepreneur Andrew Duplessie joined Cheddar to discuss how the metaverse will impact the future of socialization and business. "If I'm doing anything right now, I'm building an app, I'm jumping into that ecosystem, and I'm testing it. I'm seeing what people think," he said.
Despite challenges like inflation, labor and product shortages, and the Omicron variant, holiday sales saw record levels of growth this year, according to a new report from Mastercard SpendingPulse. The group reports on national retail sales across all payment types, finding that holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years this year. Mastercard senior advisor and former chariman and CEO of Saks Incorporated Steve Sadove joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
