How Under Armour raised the bar for loss prevention in North America

What was the challenge? 

Better accuracy, service, and long-term flexibility

The activewear brand already had a solid electronic article surveillance foundation in place. But over time, its asset protection team began to question whether the service level, system accuracy, and cost of its existing setup were still best-in-class. As a brand built around performance and innovation, Under Armour wanted a loss prevention approach that could deliver better results today while keeping the door open for RFID-enabled store operations in the future.

RFID capability and future perspectives

Under Armour’s existing EAS setup was functional, but the team saw an opportunity to improve. The goal was not simply to replace one system with another. It was to find a partner and technology that could support higher accuracy, better service, and a more future-ready approach to asset protection.

RFID capability was an important part of that future view. Under Armour was preparing to enable its stores with RFID capability over time, but was not yet ready to fully use RFID for loss prevention and inventory control. That made Nedap’s iD Top especially relevant.

iD Top is a ceiling-mounted EAS/RFID reader that replaces the traditional pedestals usually installed at store exits. It can be used as a standalone RFID-capable EAS system today and later integrated into a broader RFID merchandise tracking solution. For Under Armour, this offered a practical way to improve loss prevention now while creating a path toward more connected item-level visibility in the future.

A strategic move to new theft prevention technology

Changing theft prevention technology across a retail estate is a major decision. Before moving forward, Under Armour’s asset protection team needed to understand how Nedap’s technology performed in practice and how the company worked as a partner.

The team reviewed market feedback and learned that Nedap’s solutions were widely used in Europe and that the company had a strong reputation for collaboration. That was important to them. Under Armour was not just looking for a hardware solution, but for a partner that could support the project directly and through its integrator, while also contributing to future conversations around tagging, store technology, and loss prevention needs.

What made our solution stand out?

Performance and intelligence 

Nedap’s iD Top overhead reader was installed at the store entrance as the theft prevention solution. The performance quickly stood out.

The system delivered strong accuracy and was able to filter out competitors’ tags, which can cause traditional EAS devices to alarm incorrectly. This helped reduce unnecessary alarms while giving the asset protection team more confidence in the system’s performance. The cost was also considerably lower than competing alternatives Under Armour had evaluated.

For a retailer with high standards for both store performance and customer experience, the solution needed to do more than work technically. It also had to fit the look and feel of the store.

Small hardware with a big design advantage

Loss prevention technology can sometimes conflict with store design. Large devices at entrances, visible security infrastructure, or restrictive product measures can affect the customer experience and the way a brand wants its stores to feel.

That made the design of iD Top a significant advantage. Instead of large EAS pedestals, the solution is mounted overhead. Compared with Under Armour's previous EAS device, which was much larger and more visible, iD Top is about the size of a laptop computer and can be installed around ten feet high. 

The compact, ceiling-mounted design was well received by Under Armour’s corporate store design team. It provided the loss prevention performance the asset protection team needed without compromising the store entrance or visual environment. Although the small form factor initially raised questions about whether the technology could deliver the required performance, the test quickly proved that it could.

Better accuracy, better aesthetics, and lower cost

The pilot gave Under Armour a clear outcome: a loss prevention solution that was more accurate, more visually discreet, and more cost-effective than the previous setup.

That combination made Nedap’s solution a strong fit for Under Armour’s North American stores. Following the successful test, Under Armour adopted Nedap’s technology as its North American standard for EAS initiatives. As of the original case study, all new and remodeled Under Armour stores were using Nedap solutions for EAS.

The project also reinforced the value of challenging the status quo. For Under Armour, testing a smaller, ceiling-mounted RFID-capable EAS system showed that better performance does not always require more visible hardware. By staying open to new technology and validating it in-store, the asset protection team found a solution that supported operational performance, store design, and future RFID readiness. The collaborative partnership with Nedap throughout the project was mentioned as a tremendous benefit.

The result was a loss prevention approach built for today’s store environment and ready to support Under Armour’s next steps toward more connected retail operations.