Tag: CES

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ICYMI: beauty tech takes over CES, UK retail’s year of doom, the fake influencer problem

Neutrogena showing MaskiD at CES
Neutrogena showing MaskiD at CES

A round-up of everything you might have missed in relevant fashion, retail and tech industry news over the past week.

TOP STORIES
  • The future of beauty is on display at CES [CNN]
  • UK retail sales suffer worst year in more than a decade [BoF]
  • Fake influencers cost brands more than 200 million dollars [Fashion United]
TECHNOLOGY
  • IBM unveils its first commercial quantum computer [TechCrunch]
  • Amazon sets up virtual furniture showroom online [RetailDive]
  • Baidu announces Apollo Enterprise, its new platform for mass-produced autonomous vehicles [TechCrunch]
  • Here’s everything Google announced at CES 2019 [TechCrunch]
  • Bell’s hybrid-electric flying car will be available via Uber by the ‘mid-2020s’ [The Verge]
SUSTAINABILITY & PURPOSE
  • Boohoo faux fur jumper found to contain real fur [Fashion United]
  • Survey finds ‘conscious consumerism’ a top priority for Gen Z shoppers [WWD]
  • Asos and PVH Corp. join Global Fashion Agenda as strategic partners [Fashion Network]
  • NHL, Adidas to create sustainable jerseys for All-Star Game [WWD]
  • Los Angeles is hosting the very first Vegan Fashion Week [Dazed]
  • Bangladesh strikes: thousands of garment workers clash with police over poor pay [The Guardian]
  • Reusing, upcycling and innovation to be integral at the upcoming Circular Fashion Games [WWD]
RETAIL & E-COMMERCE
  • Outlet malls seize WeChat to bring online traffic offline [Jing Daily]
  • Microsoft and Kroger to create data-driven connected grocery stores [Venture Beat]
  • Calvin Klein to rebrand 205W39NYC line, close Madison Avenue store [Fashionista]
  • The sweater you don’t like is a trillion-dollar problem for retailers. These companies want to fix it [CNBC]
MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA
  • Lululemon’s next target is mindfulness for men [Quartz]
  • Novak Djokovic takes time out to meet his greatest opponent, thanks to SEIKO [PR Newswire]
PRODUCT
  • Neutrogena unveils personalized, 3-D-printed sheet masks at CES [WWD]
  • L’Oréal’s newest prototype detects wearers’ skin pH levels [The Verge]
  • Simplehuman looks to upgrade beauty accessories business with CES launch [WWD]
  • Nike stretches into Lululemon’s space with 1st yoga line [RetailDive]
  • Goop alumni launch the “Sephora of CBD” to target the cannabis curious [FastCompany]
  • The North Face debuts new outerwear technology [Fashion United]
BUSINESS
  • CFDA report highlights what it will take to achieve a truly diverse and inclusive fashion [W24]
  • These latina Avon sellers have dominated a beauty company modeled on white womanhood [Buzzfeed]
  • Tommy Hilfiger and Zendaya to show at Paris Fashion Week [Fashionista]
  • L’Occitane acquires Elemis for $900 million, eyes Asia expansion [WWD]
  • 38 percent of fashion and beauty brands plan to launch collaborations in 2019 [Fashion United]
  • Moschino has a code word for black shoppers, according to damning new lawsuit [The Fashion Law]
  • Dior switches Paris catwalk date to avoid ‘yellow vest’ protests [Reuters]
  • Debenhams rescue plan could involve closure of more than half of its stores [The Industry]
  • HSBC predicts luxury market to slow down in 2019 [Fashion United]
CULTURE
  • Gucci Garden opens exhibition dedicated to reflections on masculinity [WWD]
  • Miuccia Prada’s take on freedom of speech, cultural appropriation [WWD]

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How are you thinking about innovation? We’re all about finding you the perfect partners to do so. TheCurrent Global is a consultancy transforming how fashion, beauty and consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more. 

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product Retail technology

Ulta and Cosmopolitan team up with Perfect Corp. on virtual try-on at CES 2019

Beauty retailer Ulta and Cosmopolitan magazine are working with beauty software company Perfect Corp. to give consumers virtual try-on experiences, as announced at CES 2019 in Las Vegas this week.

Using Perfect Corp.’s YouCam app, Ulta customers will be able to virtually try on hair colors with the help of an in-store associate as part of its salon service.

“Our partnership with YouCam will give us insight about how augmented reality experiences can complement the services we offer in Ulta Beauty stores,” says Prama Bhatt, Ulta’s svp of digital and ecommerce at Ulta. “This represents a nice merging of physical, digital and emotional experiences.”

Meanwhile, Cosmopolitan is continuing its partnership with YouCam after introducing an AR feature to its print magazines last September where consumers could scan an image of a beauty product to virtually try it on, and proceed to purchase on Macys.com.

“My goal is to deepen the connection between Cosmo and its readers by constantly making our content more responsive to what they’re craving right now,” said Cosmopolitan’s editor in chief, Jessica Pels. “Because of who our audience is — Millennials holding the magazine in one hand and their phone in the other — that means bringing interactivity to our pages through projects like our partnership with YouCam, which brings a virtual try-on experience right into our pages.”

At the show, Perfect Corp. also introduced Beauty 3.0, a new suite of products that includes AI product recommendation and finders, as well as skin diagnostics and the aforementioned hair color matching tool.

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How are you thinking about innovation? We’re all about finding you the perfect partners for your innovation strategy. TheCurrent is a consultancy transforming how fashion, beauty and consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more.

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data Editor's pick Events product technology

Olay launches series of personalized beauty tech innovations at CES 2019

P&G-owned Olay is at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week announcing a host of products and services that aim to create a more personalized skincare experience for consumers.

The brand is announcing three major updates to its existing Olay Skin Advisor service that launched in 2016, as well as Olay Labs, a personalized software and beauty regime service, and the Olay FaceNavi Smart Wand, a beauty tech device that provides diagnostic skin treatments.

Olay Skin Advisor
Olay’s Skin Advisor

The Olay Skin Advisor initially launched as a low-tech solution to beauty recommendations which simply asked users to answer a short questionnaire online and upload a selfie. The newly updated version, currently rolling out only in the US, introduces the Olay Future You Simulation, the Olay Whips Simulator, and the Skin Decoder features.

The first allows users to visualize what their skin and face will look like in the future through different scenarios (such as daily SPF use or no SPF) to help them make better decisions on how to personalize their regime in order to prevent long-term damage; the Whips Simulator invites users to virtually try on products from the brand’s Whips line and display what their skin would look like as a result of using them; lastly, the Skin Decoder is a camera attachment to the user’s phone which delivers high-resolution imagery that allows for a detailed diagnosis and tracking of the skin over time. The technology is currently already in use in China for sales associates, as the brand is sold at department stores in the country.

Olay’s investment in evolving its personalized advice platform is a result of its huge success since launching in 2016, with the web-based application having been visited over 5 million times by customers.

Olay Labs
Olay Labs Moments device

In 2018, Olay lunched its personalization software Olay Labs, which aims to blend machine learning with human expertise to create a bespoke four-week skincare regimen. In order to achieve this the brand is deploys a an algorithm that can learn and adapt to the user’s skin in real-time and give it advise.

For 2019, it has announced plans to take this to the next level with the Olay Labs Moments, a device that will create bespoke products to the user, daily in their homes, by tracking their skin’s circumstances and reacting in real-time.

Olay FaceNavi Smart Wand
Olay’s Smart Wand

Lastly, also launching at this year’s conference is the Olay Smart Wand, which connects to a mobile app to offer consumers personalized diagnosis and treatment. The device uses electromagnetic technology to read the user’s skin and relay it to the app, which in turn creates temporary, dynamic programmable fields that help the device better drive skincare ingredients into the user’s skin, bespoke to their issues.

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How are you thinking about product innovation? We’re all about finding you the perfect partners to do so.TheCurrent is a consultancy transforming how fashion, beauty and consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more. 

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Editor's pick product

L’Oréal sells new UV skin sensor exclusively at Apple stores

L'Oréal's My Skin Track UV
L'Oréal's My Skin Track UV

L'Oréal's My Skin Track UV
L’Oréal’s My Skin Track UV

L’Oréal USA is teaming up with Apple as an exclusive nationwide retail partner for the launch of its new skincare technology device, the My Skin Track UV sensor.

The move marks the first time a beauty company has partnered with Apple retail stores.

“I think that it opens the door for a new consumer market for us, and a new retail environment,” Guive Balooch, global VP of L’Oréal’s tech incubator, told Fast Company.

The device is part of the ongoing UV Sense prototype from the beauty group’s La Roche-Posay brand, which launched as a nail patch earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This iteration sees the sensor technology applied onto a battery-free device, which can be clipped onto clothing and accessories with the aim to measure the wearer’s exposure to UV radiation.

Like the nail patch, the device is accompanied by an app that translates that data to the user, making them aware of not only their individual UV exposure but giving them personalized advice on how to keep it at a safe level. It also uses a phone’s location-based data to provide further information about humidity, air quality and pollen in the area.

The My Skin Track UV app will also display data on Apple’s HealthKit, in a further move to educate the consumer on the damages of sun exposure as part of their day-to-day lives. Meanwhile, moving from a nail patch to a clip-on device furthers the groups attempt to also attract the male audience.

At SXSW festival earlier this year, TheCurrent spoke to Balooch on how the group is deploying technology to have more one-to-one relationships with its consumers. Beyond connected devices, from the clip-on to a hairbrush, this strategy also includes new digital tools that aim to bridge the gap between physical and online experiences. Recently, it introduced digital beauty assistants that use AR technology to showcase makeup looks to customers via video chat.

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How are you thinking about innovation? We’re all about finding you the perfect partners to do so. TheCurrent is a consultancy transforming how fashion, beauty and consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more.

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Editor's pick Podcast product technology

FOREO on driving meaningful innovation in the beauty device market

Paul Peros and Rachel Arthur
Paul Peros and Rachel Arthur

Paul Peros and Rachel Arthur
Paul Peros and Rachel Arthur

Applying innovation to every aspect of a product or service is at the core of beauty device company FOREO’s strategy, from product design to discoverability and communications, says CEO Paul Peros on the latest episode of TheCurrent Innovators podcast.

The Swedish brand entered the market in 2013, when the concept of beauty tech was just beginning to bubble up, and move from the professional salon space to selling at retail. What became clear however was that the company had to strive not only to introduce a new technology into the consumer’s home, but educate them on how that type of product would fit into the context of their lives.

Listen here: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS

Peros explains that for the the at-home beauty device industry to become truly mainstream, brands need to not only offer efficacy at a professional level, but convenience that matches consumer expectations. He refers to this as “meaningful innovation”.

“You cannot ask a consumer to adopt a completely new practice or new product that stands in [their] way,” he explains. “You cannot have products where the consumer services the product rather than the other way around.”

The brand has engaged directly with consumers from the get-go, which initially started as a necessity as the company lacked the resources to play in the traditional media game. However, it quickly became a vital part of its business model, helping it reach the estimated $1 billion in worldwide sales that it’s expecting to hit in 2018.

“At the end of the day this has become an advantage that helped us not only reach the consumers but to engage with them and learn how to evolve our product range and our communications,” says Peros. At CES in January 2018, for instance, FOREO turned to Kickstarter to launch the UFO, a spaceship-like device that enables consumers to do a facemask in under 90 seconds (as opposed to the typical 15-20 minutes).

Foreo UFO
Foreo UFO

Unlike traditional campaigns on the crowdfunding platform that seek funding as their primary goal, the company saw this as a chance to spend months engaging with the consumer and gathering important feedback before bringing the product to launch.

Doing so has enabled it to drive engagement with a fiercely loyal beauty consumer, leading FOREO to experience exponential growth around the global. The five-year-old company now employs over 3.000 people in 20 offices worldwide.

Also in this episode, Peros talks further about the secret to developing products for a consumer that lives a much faster life, and just how the beauty industry is finally getting the innovation it deserves.

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Catch up with all of our episodes of TheCurrent Innovators here. The series is a weekly conversation with visionaries, executives and entrepreneurs. It’s backed by TheCurrent, a consultancy transforming how consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more.

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e-commerce Editor's pick technology

CES 2018: Ford and Postmates teaming up for self-driving shopping deliveries

Ford and Postmates
Ford and Postmates

Retail deliveries made in self-driving cars got a step closer to reality at CES in Las Vegas this week.

Ford announced it has partnered with delivery service Postmates to begin a pilot program testing how its self-driving vehicles and on-demand delivery might work hand in hand.

The two will explore how self-driving technology could change the delivery experience for consumers, enable brick-and-mortar retailers to reach new customer bases, and transform the way commerce moves in the communities in which we operate. A big focus is on how to benefit small businesses.

“The way commerce is moving around in cities is dramatically changing, and emerging technology will undoubtedly have an impact on the future of on-demand delivery,” Sherif Marakby, Ford’s vice president of autonomous vehicles and electrification, said in a post on Medium. “With the knowledge we’ll gain from our partnership with Postmates, we anticipate we’ll be able to better deploy self-driving technology in a way that can help people get what they need faster, while also supporting local businesses that are a big part of communities around the world.”

The test will include a pilot in a city yet to be announced, where Ford will eventually launch a fleet of self-driving vehicles.

Categories
product sustainability technology

CES 2018: This jewelry collection is made from gold mined from Dell laptop parts

The Circular Collection jewelry from Nikki Reed and Dell (Pic via Engadget)
The Circular Collection jewelry from Nikki Reed and Dell (Pic via Engadget)

Device recycling just reached a whole new level thanks to a partnership between Dell and actress Nikki Reed.

The duo have teamed up to launch The Circular Collection, which is a line of jewelry made from gold mined from old or broken laptop parts.

For every million cell phones recycled, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In this case, there’s sufficient quantity to create delicate rings, earrings and cufflinks for Reed’s sustainable-focused Bayou With Love brand. The collection is completely sourced from the recycled electronics that Dell collects, as announced at CES in Las Vegas this week.

Dell is mining gold from old and broken laptop parts
Dell is mining gold from old and broken laptop parts

According to Dell, it takes approximately six motherboards to produce a single piece of jewelry. It will also use recycled gold in new motherboards in its Latitude 5285 computers shipping in March. Dell says it aims to use 100 million pounds of recycled material in its product portfolio by 2020.

“At Dell, we pride ourselves in finding better, more efficient ways to do business, particularly throughout our supply chain. Materials innovation – where and how we source things like plastic, carbon fiber and now gold for our products – is increasingly important for us,” said Dell’s vice chairman, Jeff Clarke, in a press release.

The jewelry will retail at $78-$348. Said Reed, who is best known for her role as Rosalie Hale in the Twilight movies: “I wanted to create pieces that could be worn every day,” says Reed. Another form of upcycling is passing down jewelry from generation to generation… we wanted to create pieces that could be worn beyond our lifetime.”

The Circular Collection jewelry from Nikki Reed and Dell
The Circular Collection jewelry from Nikki Reed and Dell

The Circular Collection jewelry from Nikki Reed and Dell
The Circular Collection jewelry from Nikki Reed and Dell

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e-commerce Editor's pick product technology

#CES2017: All the fashion and retail news from this year’s show

Robots like Pepper, on show at CES 2017, are becoming increasingly relevant to retail
Robots like Pepper, on show at CES 2017, are becoming increasingly relevant to retail

Last week’s CES trends might have been pretty heavy on the automotive and voice control technology front, but there were lots of bits hidden in there more directly relevant for the fashion and retail markets too. If you, like me, decided to give the Las Vegas Convention Center and its endless trade show booths a miss this year, here’s a round-up of everything you missed, as written by other people all over the web…

  • Here come smart stores with robots, interactive shelves [Associated Press]
  • Google moves into augmented reality shopping with BMW and Gap [Bloomberg]
  • Why Under Armour’s CEO is competing with Apple [WWD]
  • Under Armour launches Athlete Recovery sleepwear [Fibre2Fashion]
  • L’Oréal launches smart hairbrush at CES: a bargain at $189? [AdAge]
  • The future of 3D printing in retail [Retail Week]
  • A brief journey to the future of retail via Alibaba’s CES booth [The Ringer]
  • Do brands care if bricks-and-mortars survive the Amazon era? [Campaign]
  • SoftBank’s humanoid robot Pepper is improving sales at brick-and-mortar stores [Recode]

L'Oréal launched a smart hairbrush at CES 2017
L’Oréal launched a smart hairbrush at CES 2017

  • Wearables double down on fashion at CES to cling to relevancy [Motherboard]
  • Wearable tech has become beautiful. So now what? [WGSN Insider]
  • A look at Fossil’s spring 2017 collection: Q Accomplice, Modern Pursuit and more [Wareable]
  • Swarovski to surprise, delight with smartwatch category entrance [Luxury Daily]
  • Armani Exchange’s first hybrid smartwatch has rugged good looks [Wareable]
  • Moshi’s Arcus is a fashionable backpack with functionality to match [Digital Trends]
  • Footwear adds feeling to VR experience [News13]
  • VivoBarefoot IoT-enabled running shoe powered by Sensoria [FashNerd]
  • Blinking dresses and laser cut tops? That’s fashion CES-style [GearBrain]
  • Vibrating jeans and airbag vests: the best tech from CES [Drapers]
  • How wearable technology could change Hollywood’s red carpet [Hollywood Reporter]
Categories
business data digital snippets e-commerce mobile social media sustainability technology

What you missed: Gap’s AR dressing room app, smart hairbrushes, Brexit’s impact on fashion

Gap's AR dressing room app with Google
Gap’s AR dressing room app with Google

Happy New Year and welcome to 2017… may it be a fortuitous one for all of us; the industry at large included. On that note, here’s a wrap up of everything you might have missed over the holidays and this past week, from new tech at CES to lots of thoughts on what to expect in the market throughout this year.

Also worth checking out is an interview on sustainability with Kering’s François-Henri Pinault, a deep-dive on all things WeChat (seriously a must-read), and an exploration of the worker robots hitting Japan. If you haven’t seen it, don’t forget to also check out our list of the 8 tech trends that will shape fashion and luxury retail in 2017.

TOP STORIES
  • Google moves into augmented reality shopping with BMW and Gap [Bloomberg]
  • L’Oréal launches smart hairbrush at CES: a bargain at $189? [AdAge]
  • How Brexit will impact fashion in 2017 [BoF]
  • The future of fashion is mushroom leather – Kering’s François-Henri Pinault on sustainability [Bloomberg]
  • Why Alexander Wang’s Adidas collection was sold in unmarked trucks and trash bags [Co.Create]
  • Selfridges unveils new plan to promote sustainable fashion [Dazed]
BUSINESS
  • In 2017’s “new normal,” luxury brands will have to work a lot harder to sell their pricey goods [QZ]
  • For the Trumps, ‘Made in USA’ may be a tricky label to stitch [NY Times]
  • Macy’s to cut more than 10,000 jobs and close 68 stores [AP]
  • Carolina Herrera is suing Oscar de la Renta over hiring of Monse designer [Hollywood Reporter]
  • Expect more store closings despite big holiday sales [USA Today]
SOCIAL MEDIA
  • How social cash made WeChat the app for everything [Fast Company]
  • Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram: who is winning the social media shopping race? [BoF]
  • #Prada365: The brand’s new social, advertising strategy [TheFashionLaw]
  • 5 ways Snapchat Spectacles will affect influencer marketing in 2017 [AdWeek]
  • How fashion publishers are experimenting with Instagram Live [Glossy]
  • Here’s a timeline showing Instagram and Snapchat’s 2016 war over the best features [AdWeek]
  • Infographic: How millennials and baby boomers consume user-generated content [AdWeek]
RETAIL
  • Here come ‘smart stores’ with robots, interactive shelves [AP]
  • How tech drove retailer turnaround efforts in 2016 [Retail Dive]
  • Harrods incorporates in-store navigation tool in latest app update [LuxuryDaily]
  • The internet goes IRL at ModCloth’s new store [Racked]
  • What everyone will be buzzing about at NRF Retail’s BIG Show 2017 [IBM]
TECHNOLOGY
  • Japanese white-collar workers are already being replaced by artificial intelligence [QZ]
  • Amazon patent reveals its drone-deploying flying warehouse plan [Engadget]
  • Cross-border payment technology creates global opportunities [WWD]
  • Wearables gradually move beyond the wrist, and into hearts and minds (literally) [CNBC]
  • Shiseido Group invests in beauty technologies to maintain competitive edge [LuxuryDaily]
Categories
business e-commerce technology

Under Armour’s power performance: Athleisure & connected fitness

underarmour1

How important is ‘athleisure’ as a trend that’s impacting sales figures for sportswear companies? Well, sports brands never really own up to that. But the sales growth some of the big names are seeing suggests that it’s a real sales driver. Just look at Under Armour’s latest results.

The company released its Q4 figures this week, turning in an eye-popping 31% revenue rise to $1.17bn. Wow. You don’t get that from just selling to committed sports and fitness fanatics.

Under Armour is one of those companies that has really been benefitting from the athleisure trend and while yesterday’s upbeat news wasn’t all about sportswear as a lifestyle choice (rather than a sports one), the lifestyle factor obviously did loom large. Interestingly, lifestyle is giving a major boost to sports clothing sales. Where once upon a time all the sexy news was about footwear, now apparel is enjoying its time in the spotlight.

Apparel sales for Under Armour rose a massive 22.2% and at $864.8m in the three months to December 31 they obviously make up the biggest chunk of the firm’s revenue, driven by demand for training, running, golf and basketball duds. Obviously, you don’t see 20%-plus growth in each quarter for 25 consecutive quarters by just supplying clothes for active sports. That means a lot of people bought those training, running, golf and basketball pieces for working in, for relaxing, posing and partying in… as well as for getting fit.

womenshoe_UA

Footwear had a good quarter too though, with sales almost doubling to $166.9m as new running shoes and the signature Stephen Curry basketball line proved hugely popular. Again, you only have to look around any group of friends at work or off-duty to see how even the most high-performance shoes have transitioned from the track and court to the bar and office.

And accessories sales soared as well, rising 23% to $97.1m, driven primarily by new bags. Meanwhile online sales grew 25% in Q4 and now make up 36% of total Under Armour revenue, and international net revenues rose 70% (or 85% currency-neutral) to make up 12% of the total. That all helped net profit to rise 20.4% to $105.6m, or 48 cents per share.

Any negatives?

Can this impressive performance continue? Well, the firm expects revenue growth of 25% this year so, yes. That prediction obviously countered any worries investors may have had that the athleisure trend fuelling such explosive growth might end any time soon.

Some analysts and investors were concerned about reports that Under Armour is losing womenswear market share – a particularly disconcerting thought given that women are helping to drive the athleisure trend. The Wall Street Journal quoted data from SportScanInfo saying the company saw a 7.7% drop in womenswear sales in December (compared to a 6.6% rise for Nike). But Under Armour has countered this saying the data captured only represents 40% of its business (it doesn’t include wholesale or online sales, for instance).

Yet there are still some downsides in Under Armour’s performance. The company’s margin slipped in Q4 as it boosted inventory levels to ensure it could meet demand and keep shelves stocked. The negative aspect of this high inventory level is unsold product that ends up being marked down.

underarmour2

And lower margins make analysts nervous, especially when they’re already worried that a fashion trend (athleisure) fuelling massive sales growth could flip suddenly and become yesterday’s fashion news.

But is athleisure really a fashion trend any more or has it evolved into a true lifestyle phenomenon that’s a reflection of society’s increasing move away from formal clothing? I’m inclined to think the latter. In many ways it’s the logical conclusion of a trend that started over 50 years ago and I don’t think it’s going to go away, even when the fashion pendulum swings in another direction.

Future focus

So, assuming that athleisure is here to stay and that the firm’s power growth can continue (for a while at least), what will Under Armour be offering this year to make it happen?

CEO Kevin Plank said the firm will deliver new iterations of signature product across premium price points and distribution throughout this year. It’s doubling its “elevated running” offerings priced above $100 including the launch of its first smart shoe, SpeedForm Gemini 2 RE, and SpeedForm Slingshot, made with a 3D knitting process.

In apparel, it will debut two new HeatGear apparel cooling technologies, Microthread and CoolSwitch, while also launching a proprietary ColdGear insulation story called Reactor.

OK, a lot of people are going to buy into that sport-focused tech for nothing more vigorous than the walk to the bus stop. But the company is also going to offer plenty for the true fitness-focused community, not only with clothes and shoes, but via major developments in Connected Fitness.

Earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show, it unveiled the new UA Record, the digital dashboard app for health & fitness, and a suite of new products led by Under Armour HealthBox, which it described as “the world’s first complete Connected Fitness system.”

And while all that can help consumers monitor their fitness, importantly, it can help Under Armour monitor its consumers too! That’s not as creepy as it sounds; the company isn’t watching us. But CEO Kevin Plank did say it could achieve a “more complete picture of [its] consumer”. He added: “We are establishing our data-driven math house that will provide us with real-time information to make better decisions and build even better products. More importantly, it will provide deeper insights, recommendations, and personalised content.”

So there you have it – something for everyone no matter how fitness-focused you are. As for me, I think I’ll stick to the hoodie and leggings for lounging around and watching TV…

This post first appeared on Trendwalk.net, a style-meets-business blog by journalist, trends specialist and business analyst, Sandra Halliday