When one of the largest fitness attire companies on the planet starts to look into wearables, people take notice.
Under Armour has apparently shelled out $560 million to buy two fitness apps, giving it access to a mountain of data about health enthusiasts that it hopes will help it to sell more sportswear.
The company will pay US$475 million to buy MyFitnessPal, a HealthKit-integrated app that helps people lose weight by letting them record what they eat and count calories. It will also pay US$85 million for Endomondo, an app from Denmark that lets people track their activity, whether that’s running or doing gymnastics.
Combined with the fitness services it already owns, Under Armour says the deals give it access to “the world’s largest digital health and fitness community,” with 120 million registered users. And the more people log and share what they do, the more Under Armour will learn about them.
Under Armor hopes to use the information to expand sales of its clothing, hiking shoes and other products. It “provides an opportunity to build long-term relationships with consumers, and ultimately we think we’re going to sell a lot more shirts and shoes,” said Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour.
Endomondo could help it grow its sales overseas, too, where more than three-quarters of the app’s 20 million users reside.
Under Armour already operates an online health and fitness network called Record, where users can store data from popular devices like the Fitbit and Jawbone. It also owns the workout app MapMyFitness, which it bought in 2013. Those existing offerings have 31 million registered users, so the acquisitions will increase the number fourfold.
Under Armour completed its acquisition of Endomondo in January, and the MyFitnessPal deal is expected to close by the end of March, it said. The deals were announced with the company’s fourth quarter earnings Wednesday, in which sales grew by 31 percent to US$895 million.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via Macworld