Under Armour CEO Meets With President Trump

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank meets with President Trump to discuss creating jobs in the U.S.

donald trump meets with kevin plank
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Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

donald trump meets with kevin plank

Since winning the Presidential nomination Donald Trump has been a hot topic in world of sneakers because of changes the industry might face under his administration. Higher sneaker prices is one of them. After just a few days in office Trump signed orders to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership, in efforts to bring more manufacturing jobs to the U.S. In a continued effort, President Trump met up with Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and other business leaders to discuss the topic.

According to The Baltimore Sun, Plank was joined by executives from Dell Technologies, Dow Chemical, Ford Motor Co., International Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, U.S. Steel and Whirlpool for the first of what is expected to periodic meetings with Trump.

During the meeting, Trump said he hopes to meet with the group at least four times a year to hear from them saying that they are “great people” who have done “an amazing job.” He also vowed to provide expedited requests and incentives to build for companies looking to grow or start new manufacturing facilities in the states.

“Kevin Plank was invited to be part of a distinguished group of business leaders to begin an important dialogue with the new administration,” said Diane Pelkey, Under Armour senior vice president for global communications to The Baltimore Sun. “Under Armour is committed to developing innovative ways for businesses to support and invest in American manufacturing.”

Despite nearly two-thirds of the Under Armour's products being manufactured in China, Jordan, Vietnam and Indonesia, the Baltimore-based footwear and apparel company launched initiatives to test technologies for local production.

Back in June, when the brand opened manufacturing and design center called UA Lighthouse, Plank said, "Today, unfortunately, much of our manufacturing is done outside the U.S." He went on to say, "We'd like to reinvent the process."

With a goal of reaching $7.5 billion in sales by 2018, up from almost $5 billion this year, it'll be interesting to see how Trump's administration affects Under Armour and other companies' business plans.