NEWS

Inside the Industry

Under Armour, the Baltimore-headquartered sportswear, footwear and casualwear label, announced that it would make donations to organizations affected by the coronavirus. It has donated $1 million to Feeding America to support hunger-relief efforts due to school closures and quarantines. Feeding America works with students and their families whose school-meal plans have been disrupted. Donation efforts will take place where Under Armour team members live and work, including Baltimore, San Francisco, Nashville and Portland, Ore. Under Armour also said that it would donate up to $1 million in money and product to support Good Sports, a nonprofit that supports the distribution of sports equipment and footwear to kids. The effort is connected to Under Armour’s 30-day Healthy at Home fitness challenge under the MyFitnessPal and MapMyRun platforms, which encourages people to remain active.

NuOrder and Tukatech technology companies announced they would be offering complimentary access to their products during the coronavirus crisis. NuOrder said that it would offer brands and retailers complimentary versions of its Digital Catalog platform, which it said digitizes the market-to-order process. The Digital Catalog helps buyers and brands work in real time online, without having to meet in person. Tukatech is offering a complimentary cloud license to CAD program users who are equipped with dongle license keys. Tukatech founder Ram Sareen said that the complimentary license will assist people working outside of their offices.

Lifestyles in 360, an Orlando, Fla.–headquartered technology company, produces virtual tours of retailers such as Whole Foods. With the current coronavirus pandemic, Lifestyles in 360 said that it has been approaching retailers on developing virtual-reality tours of their shops where consumers can make purchases. Lifestyles in 360 plans to hire up to 1,000 new employees by the end of 2020.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts senator and former Democratic presidential candidate, is keeping her promise to remain an active presence in national progressive politics. On March 20, Sen. Warren will join Amazon and Walmart associates on a media call produced by the United for Respect labor organization. These workers will talk to reporters on universal paid leave, which is a point in a third stimulus bill to assist employees on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. A United for Respect statement said that Congress exempted the country’s largest retailers from a mandate to provide emergency paid leave for workers. United for Respect contends that Congress’s next stimulus bill must include comprehensive paid family and sick leave for workers.