Under Armour Buys Adidas Veteran’s Firm, Names Him Brand Chief

(Bloomberg) -- Under Armour Inc. has hired Eric Liedkte as head of brand strategy after acquiring the former Adidas AG executive’s plant-based fashion startup Unless Collective.

Liedtke will report to Under Armour Chief Executive Officer Kevin Plank on marketing and strategy matters following the completion of the transaction later this week, the Baltimore-based company said in a statement. Liedtke will continue to lead Unless.

With the appointment, Under Armour is now pinning much of its turnaround efforts on an American who last decade oversaw a golden era at Adidas. Liedtke became the German company’s brand chief in 2014 and helped lead a period of rapid growth thanks in part to soaring demand for retro shoes like the Stan Smith and Superstar — along with the wildly successful Yeezy collaboration before that franchise collapsed in 2022 following a string of antisemitic rhetoric from the rapper Ye.

Under Armour has struggled to churn out hot products in recent years and has resorted to heavy discounting that’s weighing on sales and earnings. The company is going through a transitional period as Plank returned to the CEO role in April, about five years after stepping down amid a series of scandals. Shares of Under Armour are down 16% in the last 12 months. 

Liedtke will help galvanize Under Armour’s brand strategy, refine its operating model, and improve its consumer engagement, Plank said in the statement.

Liedtke left Adidas at the end of 2019, right before the company landed in a series of crises, saying he wanted to pursue new ventures. He soon co-founded Unless Collective with a handful of fellow Adidas veterans, setting up shop in Portland, Oregon. The company’s name refers to a line in Dr. Seuss’ overconsumption parable, The Lorax.

With Unless, Liedtke has partnered with brands including Mammut Sports Group and offers plastic-free hoodies, jackets and even a skater-style sneaker called The Degenerate, which is made from decomposable plants and minerals.

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