Under Armour has moved up in rank on the S

Under Armour has never had a problem looking outside its walls for help designing new products.

This year, the brand looked as far away as Finland and Israel in its quest to build a defining training product.

The sports apparel maker picked Omegawave, a company based in Espoo, Finland, as winner of the 2014 Under Armour Future Show, its annual best ideas contest for established companies and startups alike.

The fourth future show was billed as a "Connected Fitness Innovation Challenge." Under Armour wanted to hear about "the next generation" of digital apps and wearable technology that could potentially fit into MapMyFitness software. Under Armour acquired the fitness technology company, creator of the MapMyRun and MapMyRide mobile applications, for $150 million late last year in a move to close the gap on wearable fitness and fitness applications with Nike and other rivals.

During the event earlier this month, Under Armour looked for engineers and software developers who are creating...

A California shoe company that accused Under Armour of trademark infringement settled its lawsuit after five days before a federal court jury.

Gravity Defyer Corp., which makes shock-absorbing athletic footwear using the G Defy trademark, said in a March 2013 complaint that Under Armour intentionally created its "Micro G Defy" women’s running shoe with a sound-alike name that would mislead consumers using search engines and shopping online.

Retailers that sell Under Armour shoes, including Finish Line, Foot Locker, Dick's Sporting Goods and Champs Sports, also were named in Gravity Defyer's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Terms of the settlement, reached Oct. 7, were not disclosed.  A lawsuit dismissal hearing is set for Nov. 24.

The footwear company, which said it filed for the G Defy trademark in July 2009, said it uses the name to distinguish its pro-sport line of shoes from casual and dress lines and said it has long advertised the name in magazines, catalogs,...

Under Armour has overhauled three gyms used by city firefighters as part of a public-private effort to improve firefighters' living conditions, health and fitness.

The Baltimore City Fire Department's three most heavily used gyms -- at Thomas J. Burke Fire Station at Oldtown Mall, Steadman Station and the Fire Training Academy -- got new strength and cardiovascular training equipment, new floor mats and a paint spruce up, city officials said Friday.

The city and business community has been collaborating through the year-old Firehouse Renovation Project to improve facilities at aging firehouses.

Under Armour donated fitness equipment through its UA Freedom corporate initiative, which supports military and public safety officials, a company spokeswoman said. The sports brand plans to outfit three more fire stations with fitness equipment by the end of the year, said Stacey Ullrich, Under Armour's director of corporate giving 

The three gyms used to have a hodge-podge of older equipment,...

The inroads Under Armour has made in the college athletics outfitting market have come at a price, a new study says.

The study – to be presented at the annual Sport Marketing Association conference in Philadelphia next week - says Nike has been such a dominant player that Under Armour and Adidas have had to overpay to compete.

“If you talk to Mr. (Kevin) Plank or anybody else at Under Armour, I don’t think they would dispute that,” said study co-author Jonathan A. Jensen, an Ohio State University instructor. “If you look at Nike’s market dominance, its not surprising that competitors would have to pay (a premium).”

The Baltimore-based sports apparel maker said it had no spokesperson available to discuss the study, which examined dozens of publicly available contracts of Under Armour, Nike and Adidas that were in effect during the 2013-14 academic year.

The study didn't fault Under Armour, suggesting it was simply paying the price of admission.

"The fact that they were able to get the...

Under Armour turned to one of America’s most luxe retailers for a new board member, appointing the head of Neiman Marcus Group as a company director.

The Baltimore-based sports apparel maker announced Thursday that Karen W. Katz, 57, president and CEO of the international, multi-brand luxury retailer, will join its board of directors.

Katz overseas a portfolio of brands including Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and mytheresa.com. Before taking the top job in 2010, she served in several executive roles since 1985, including executive vice president – stores, president of Neiman Marcus Online and CEO of Neiman Marcus Stores.

“Karen brings a wealth of retail knowledge and a keen understanding of the customer shopping experience across channels,” said Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s chairman and CEO, in the announcement.

Plank said Katz’s international experience would be an asset to the board as it directs Under Armour’s global expansion.

Before resigning for personal reasons last November,...