While the focus for UA (and the Street) has clearly been on UA's footwear initiatives, the company is also keeping its foot on the gas in its apparel business as evidenced by the launch of its' new muscle recovery enhancing body suit (see below). These garments (priced $89.99 for tops, and $99.99 for bottoms) serve the same purpose as taping a strained area of the body after a workout. The technical benefit is a combination of increased oxygen flow while at the same time expelling excess water out of muscles, and therefore accelerating recovery time.
Is this the answer to all the bears who are concerned about lack of growth in apparel? No, it's probably no more than a 5% boost to apparel sales growth based on my math (which ain't half bad). Also, this is a pure performance product which has a more limited audience than would a typical product by an active weekend warrior. But it is another tool in UA's arsenal to solidify its relationship with the high school performance athlete, which ultimately serves as a halo to grow its other businesses that have more mass appeal.
