Adding Stephen Curry to the team was undoubtedly key in the growth of the sports brand, Under Armour.
However, the story behind his addition to the company is very different from what you might expect, and even his eldest daughter was the main reason this deal finally came to fruition.
Riley, visionary for business
Founded in 1996, Under Armour has managed to position itself and stand up to two long-established giants like Nike and Adidas.
The Golden State Warriors star joined the brand shortly after a disagreement on the renewal of his contract with Nike. In 2013, Under Armour was on a campaign to find its top star. When CEO Kevin Plank became aware of the rift between Nike and the four-time NBA champion, he didn’t hesitate to go after him.
Kent Bazemore was Steph Curry’s locker room mate on the Warriors, so they first signed him in an attempt to get closer to Curry:
“In seducing Steph, it was like, ‘Well, how do we get our first handshake?’ The first handshake was, ‘Let’s sign the guy in the locker next to Stephen,’” Plank explained on In Depth with Graham Bensinger.
After their agreement, Under Armour began sending Bazemore gifts to pique Steph’s interest. And they succeeded.
However, they needed to make a big leap to stand out among the competition and they got help from one very special person: his daughter, Riley Curry.
“Who put us over the edge was his daughter, Riley,” Plank revealed. “He was sitting on the couch and had all three shoe boxes lined up on the coffee table. He goes, ‘Which one do you think I should do?’ So, [Riley] turns around like a two-year-old and picks up the Nike shoe. She looks at it, throws it over. She picks up the Adidas shoe. Looks at it, throws it over. She picks up [the Under Armour shoe] and goes, ‘Here, daddy, this one.’“
Sure, the strategy of signing Curry’s teammate first was a great move, but without Riley’s help, they wouldn’t have pulled it off. Stephen, along with his wife Ayesha, share three other children: Ryan, Canon and Caius.
Finally consolidated, starting next year, Steph announced that he will have his own flagship athletes with Curry Brand.
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