On built a footwear empire around a sensation – soft landings, snappy take-off – and then protected that feel with design, patents, and tight distribution. The brand’s value sits where proprietary midsole geometry, distinctive trade dress, and athlete IP meet a disciplined go-to-market.
Origins, Awards, and the First Proof of Concept
Founded in Zürich in 2010 by Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann, and Caspar Coppetti, On began as a materials experiment that turned garden-hose sketches into a cushioning system. The mission was explicit: make running feel like “clouds.” Within months the concept had institutional validation – ISPO’s BrandNew Award in 2010 – signaling that the odd-looking sole was more than marketing and giving the company early credibility with specialty retailers and investors.
The Protected Feel: CloudTec®, Speedboard™, Helion™
On’s ride is defined by a few repeatable building blocks. CloudTec® uses hollow “clouds” that compress on impact then firm for toe-off, engineering softness without sacrificing stability. A tuned Speedboard™ plate underfoot translates vertical load into forward roll, while Helion™ superfoam balances cushioning, durability, and temperature resistance.
The net effect is a signature underfoot experience that the company encodes in patents, product names, and visual geometry – the legal and aesthetic grammar that lets the shoe read “On” from across the track.
From Specialty Niche to Flagship Scale
Early adoption ran through run shops and word-of-mouth, then broadened with owned retail. On opened a New York City flagship in 2020 as a testing ground for service, gait analysis, and launch cadence, and later unveiled “On Labs” in Zürich – a combined headquarters, design center, and brand showcase. In summer 2022 the company consolidated at an enlarged Industriequartier campus, signaling a shift from fast-growing niche to scaled operator balancing wholesale with a rising direct-to-consumer channel.
Federer, THE ROGER, and Tennis Credibility
In 2019 Roger Federer joined as an investor and partner, lending both product input and global visibility. The collaboration yielded THE ROGER line in 2020 – tennis-inspired lifestyle shoes that widened the audience beyond pure running. On deepened on-court credentials by signing world No. 1 Iga Świątek and American standout Ben Shelton in 2023–2024, aligning the brand with elite competition while keeping lifestyle product moving.
Elite Running and the OAC Platform
To ground performance claims with results, On launched the On Athletics Club (OAC) in 2020 under coach Dathan Ritzenhein. The team functions as a lab in the wild – feedback loop, storytelling engine, and race-day visibility – turning athlete data into design updates and marketing assets into long-tail demand.
Public Listing and Operating Discipline
On listed on the NYSE as ONON on September 15, 2021 at $24 per share, raising capital to scale product development, manufacturing, and brand. The scale-up is visible in the channel mix and financials – net sales reached CHF 2.32 billion in 2024 – but the governance choice matters, too: public status requires clearer disclosure on supply chain, sustainability, and IP strategy, which are now part of how the brand competes.
Circularity, Carbon, and Localized Making
Innovation moved beyond foams to models for end-of-life. Cyclon (launched 2020) introduced a subscription for recyclable, bio-based performance shoes; subscribers return worn pairs for re-processing, and the first Cyclon shoe – Cloudneo – rolled out in 2022. CleanCloud (2022) pursued EVA from captured carbon, previewed on the Cloudprime prototype. In July 2025, On inaugurated a LightSpray™ factory in Zürich – a robot-driven process aimed at localizing advanced production – signaling a long-term bet on proximity manufacturing and IP-heavy automation.
Channels, Collabs, and Culture
On’s growth blends selective wholesale with a fast-building direct business across flagships and e-commerce. The visual language – minimal, technical, “Swiss engineered” – travels cleanly from track to street, and the Loewe collaboration extends that language into luxury craft. In 2024 the partners expanded to a ready-to-wear capsule, reinforcing On’s position at the sport–fashion interface without diluting its performance core.
The brand is built on a sensation and the systems that defend it: CloudTec geometry, Speedboard roll, a recognizably engineered silhouette, athlete-led validation from OAC to Grand Slam courts, and a pipeline that ranges from circular subscriptions to carbon-based foams and automated local factories. That is the fashion-law playbook in action – design a feeling, name it, protect it, and scale it carefully so the signal stays unmistakable.
This piece was prepared in collaboration with Jamie Zwirn.
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