Swiss On shoes share the spotlight at Paris Olympics

At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, some of the best athletes will be wearing products made by the Swiss sportswear brand, On.

Sixty-five athletes are sponsored by On, including the current world no.1 tennis player, Iga Swiatek. Kenyan long-distance runner and Boston marathon winner, Hellen Obiri, will be wearing the company’s new sneaker brand, Cloudboom Strike LS, which was just released in time for the Games. On is also providing the uniforms for the Swiss team.

Unique tech

The brand has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2010 as a partnership among three friends to commercialise a cushioning technology developed at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich. 

The new design, the Cloudboom Strike LS, is made by robots that spray polyurethane in a continuous string, melding into a rubbery textile shoe. The lightweight shoes have no laces but a bulbous sole, said to cushion the foot and allow a softer landing and better “push-off” during runs.

High markups

On is now a serious player in the highly competitive shoe business. Selling in stores in more than 50 countries around the world, the company’s net sales for 2023 reached CHF1.79 billion ($2 billion) and grew 47% from 2022. As On’s fortunes increased, its close competitors have been struggling. In late June, Nike forecast a 10% decline in sales in the ongoing quarter. Adidas’s stocks were in a deep ravine through much of 2022 and 2023.

So how does the company grow so fast and remain so profitable?

The Swiss consumer magazine, Ktipp, says On has very high markups when one considers the cost of producing its shoes. For example, On’s “Roger Advantage” trainers developed in partnership with Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer, sell for CHF190 ($213) but are procured from Vietnam for just CHF17.86 ($20). This would mean Swiss customers pay more than ten times the factory price. In a report on Swiss public television, SRF (see above), the company says the margins are justifiable.