Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank says the more than 160 million users of the company’s Connected Fitness platform are key to future e-commerce growth.

Physically active shoppers helped Under Armour Inc. sprint to a strong start in 2016.

Under Armour, No. 100 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide, reports Q1 2016 direct-to-consumer sales, which include e-commerce, of $266 million, up 33% from $200 million in the year-ago period.

Under Armour is reaching consumers on the digital side of its business through its Connected Fitness platform, which CEO Kevin Plank says has more than 160 million registered users. Under Armour on Thursday reported Q1 revenue generated through Connected Fitness of $18.5 million, up 119.4% from $8.4 million in Q1 2015. Connected Fitness includes several devices and mobile apps that help athletes track their activity, nutrition and sleep and plan training programs.

In particular, Plank told analysts on the athletic apparel manufacturer’s earnings call that the new HealthBox addition to its Connected Fitness line of products proved popular. HealthBox includes a wearable band, a scale and chest strap that measures a user’s heart rate and retails for $400. It was the company’s second best-selling product online during the first quarter.

“Beyond our opportunities in products like HealthBox, we are seeing meaningful improvements in direct revenue to e-commerce coming from our Connected Fitness community,” he told analysts, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “In this quarter alone we nearly matched the revenue from people interacting on our platforms compared to what we did for all of 2015.”

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More than half of all visits to Under Armour’s e-commerce sites in the U.S. came from mobile devices, a first for the company.

“The rapid transformation in how people access our brand has been astounding,” he said. “It’s critically important that we reach our consumers where and how they shop, and our focus is on improving our e-commerce consumer experience, on both our own sites as well as our retail partner sites.”

Another key to Under Armour’s overall growth online and offline will be its ability to sell to women.

“Our women’s e-commerce growth rate continues to outpace the growth on the men’s side, a direct indicator of the strength of demand for our women’s product where we deliver upon her expectations for performance and style,” Plank said. “This year, our [total] women’s business will surpass $1 billion. That’s a $1 billion women’s business, a milestone we are proud of, that puts us among very select company in the space that continues to attract a lot of interest and competition.”

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For the first quarter ended March 31, Under Armour reported:

  • Net revenue of $1.048 billion, up 30.2% from $804.9 million last year.
  • North America revenue of $880.6 million, up 25.7% from $700.5 million last year.
  • Net income of $19.2 million, up 64.1% from $11.7 million last year.
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