Born in the Swiss Alps thirteen years ago, in its short life it has already managed to become a small global phenomenon that competes with the giants of sports footwear. It is On Running, also known simply as ‘On’, despite the fact that its logo, at first glance, often causes confusion: QC? QN? No, just ‘On’.
His focus on sports performance and groundbreaking design, as well as the impetus that he gave Roger Federer’s entry as an investor In 2019, they have achieved what seemed like a pipe dream: making a name for themselves in an industry as established and competitive as the sports footwear industry.
🇨🇭 The origin. On was founded in 2010 by Swiss runner Olivier Bernhard together with his friends David Allemann and Caspar Copetti. Their goal was to create a shoe that offered the sensation of “running on clouds”.
Bernhard, an Ironman champion, was a Nike-sponsored athlete. He became obsessed with finding optimal responsive cushioning and He began experimenting with his garden hose.He took his prototype to Nike, but was rejected. And so he decided to go solo, creating On with his sights set on the clouds.
- The result, after many iterations, was their technology. CloudTecwith an aesthetically recognizable sole that combines soft cushioning with explosive reactivity.
- Although the beginnings were hard and costly, the last five years, coinciding with the arrival of Federer, gave him momentum.
On Cloudracer, the first model of the shoe launched in 2012. The design has clearly improved over the years. Image: On.
📈 Finances. On Running’s figures have been public since its IPO in 2021. It did so with a market value of $7.3 billion. Today it is almost double that, at $14.3 billion.
Your figures in 2023:
- Revenue of $1.996 billion.
- Net profit of $89 million.
The figures are still far from those of Nike ($51.362 billion in revenue in 2023) or Adidas ($23.190 billion), but that is not their goal yet. At the moment, they are positioning themselves very close to or even above top-level sports brands, but one step below the big two.
Even at the disturbingly trendy Crocs and the storied Puma, there is faith in On.
Brands such as Skechers, which focuses on comfortable footwear, and Asics, a historic Japanese brand, are already lagging behind.
Imagen: On Running.
On Cloudmonster Hyper, one of their models for more advanced athletes. Image: On.
On has also launched some more traditional models without the usual sole, the brand’s hallmark, to compete with models that are more established in urban fashion. This is the ‘The Roger’ model. Image: On.
On Cloudboom Strike LS, a leading model for running. Image: On.
👟 The dilemma. On Running’s success, even with Federer as its visible face, is not limited to the sports field. Its shoes have been gaining more sales than sports presence.
In other words, they are in demand, but also for urban fashion, as another shoe to wear with jeans. Without sport involved.
- Models such as Cloud or Cloudnova, with their unique but not overly extravagant design, have been the protagonists of this phenomenon.
- It’s very similar to what Converse or New Balance have tried: sports shoes that are a hit on the street, not on the track.
- Even Nike itself experienced some models from the past, such as the Jordan as a paradigmatic case.
- A different case is that of lines launched specifically for this approach, such as Adidas con Yeezy.
On must decide whether it is willing to maintain its identity as a sports performance brand, or whether it will take advantage of the situation to also position itself in urban fashion, losing part of its original identity.
“On’s growth in recent years is undeniable, but especially in the last three. It has changed runners’ perception of the brand. It was seen as just another player in a market dominated by classics, but it has become a giant that is gaining ground and is betting heavily on technological innovation, very different from the disruption of recent years with midsoles, carbon plates and aggressive geometries,” he says. Pedro Moyapopular runner and founder of Runner’s Word.
“CloudTec has been their trademark, but the overall feel when running was quite firm, and the cushioning and response did not make a difference compared to the competition. That’s why for many years they have been more of a shoe to go with jeans and dress casually. They are versatile, comfortable, different in terms of design, and their use beyond the field of running also came from the perception of On as a status brand. Swiss brand = quality,” adds Pedro.
Moya explains that On probably has one of the highest average price catalogues in the sector, and that they do not offer any offers except for the discounts for older generations. In recent years they have improved their marketing and the signing of elite athletes, which has taken On to podiums alongside Nike, Adidas and company, which has changed the perception of runners. For example, seeing athletes like Hellen Obiri winning the Boston Marathon with On on their feet.
“CloudTec and Helion foam were not enough to perform at the highest level, but they were able to change course in time by betting on a new Helion HF compound (Pebax superfoam),” he adds. An evolution that has led, according to him, to models such as the CloudBoom Strike “now being at the level of the best performance shoes on the market.”
✨ The futureOn’s main challenge is to maintain its growth and profitability in such a competitive market, where even Nike is experiencing turbulence. Expansion, foray into fashion and a sporting essence are the three environments that it must balance.
The new market dynamics, with the exhausting subscription economy, have also been embraced by the brand, which offers Cyclon, a subscription program for sneakers. Of course, they are recyclable.
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Featured image | On, Xataka
