answer questions 12 and 13

Assignment Founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank, Under Armour (UA) was the originator of sports apparel made with performance enhancing fabrics-gear engineered to wick moisture from the body, regulate body temperature, and enhance comfort regardless of weather conditions and activity levels. It started with a simple plan to make a T-shirt that provided compression and wicked perspiration off the wearer's skin, thereby avoiding the discomfort of sweat-absorbed apparel. UA quickly earned a reputation as an up-and-coming company in the sports apparel business, achieving sales of $1 billion in 2010 and $3 billion in 2014. Starting in the second quarter of 2010 and continuing through the third-quarter of 2016, UA cemented its status as a growth company by achieving revenue growth of 20+ percent for 26 consecutive quarters. Unfortunately, UA's performance in 2017 went down rapidly. UA's 2017 sales in North America dropped $200 million. Operating income dropped from $417.5 million in 2016 to $27.8 million in 2017. There was a net loss of $48.3 million. UA CEO Kevin Plank has employed you as a consultant to assess the company's overall situation and recommend a set of actions to improve the company's future prospects. Please prepare a report to Mr. Plank that includes (1) an evaluation of the five competitive forces in the global market for performance sports apparel and accessories, (2) an assessment of UA's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as of early 2018, (3) an evaluation of UA's financial performance as shown in case Exhibits 1, 2, and 3, (4) a weighted competitive strength assessment of UA, Nike, and The Adidas Group using the methodology in Table 4.4 in Chapter 4, and (5) a set of action recommendations that clearly define the course of action UA should pursue to get its performance back on track, particularly in North America, Your report should be comprehensive and include an assortment of charts, tables, and exhibits to support your analysis and recommendations. 4. How strong are the other four competitive forces confronting UA, Nike, and The adidas Group as of 2018? Do a five-forces analysis to support your answer. 5. Does UA have any core competencies and, if so, what are they? Do they have any resource strengths or competitive capabilities that qualify as a distinctive competence? 7. What does a E-SWOT analysis reveal about the overall attractiveness of UA's situation headed into 2018? 8. What are the key elements of UA's strategy? Which one of the five generic competitive strategies most closely relates to the competitive approach that UA is employing? 10. As of 2018, how does UA's competitive strength in the global market for sports apparel and athletic footwear compare against that of Nike and Adidas Group? Do a weighted competitive strength assessment to support your answer. Based on your assessment and calculations, does UA have a net competitive advantage or disadvantage in competing globally against Nike and The Adidas Group? 12. What are the key issues confronting UA's top management team as of mid-2018? 13. What recommendations and suggestions for improvement would you make to Kevin Plank regarding the turnaround strategy put in place at UA