Kevin A. Plank - Under Armour, Inc.
Analyst · Barclays. Your line is open
Well, number one. As DTC relates to e-commerce, I don't know if anyone can imagine that they can put enough money toward their digital businesses today. As I answered that earlier question about Connected Fitness, that is an investment in our digital business, in our own direct-to-consumer and e-commerce. And so we feel very bullish, and we feel like (50:56) really unique positioning unlike anyone else in our industry. And frankly I can't think of any companies that have sort of that amount of data flow to understand their consumer better. But as we think about the experiences first and foremost, it's about having a great consumer experience. It's about when people show up, exciting them and helping them choose to transact, and doing it in a way which either; a, forces them to get up and go to brick and mortar; or b, it help them choose to transact on a phone. And so when I describe our DTC business, I think about e-commerce, full price, and outlet. And probably as recently as a year to two years ago, I'd probably give those in full price, out, and then e-commerce. And so that world is here, and it's here to stay. And this is not to say that we think that retail is dead either. So we do believe that the move for us of being able to control our destiny. And we talk about upside. Our direct-to-consumer channel last year in the fourth quarter was up 23%, and it was up 27% for the full year. So we're still seeing great momentum there, and DTC represented close to 40% of our total business in the fourth quarter as well. Controlling our own destiny is something which is, we like to do, but the fact is there are really good partners. But one of the shakeups that we're seeing happen at retail right now is that some are going to win and someone are not going to win. And so we want to make sure that we're getting behind and placing our bets on those great retail partners that are creating incredible dynamic retail experiences. And we have an obligation to them too to make sure that we have great dynamic product that sits on the floor, and will allow them to sell through at great turn and full price and full margin. So, I don't think any of these things – I think the way that we're viewing it is, of course, we like controlling our destiny, but we began as a wholesaler, and we'll always have a wholesale aspect to our business with the best partners out there that continue to prioritize us and put us and present us in a way which we think tells and helps explain the great products that we have and doesn't just differentiate us by price.