After running shoes, On is looking to do bigger business.

In the recently released financial report for the fourth quarter of 2025, Swiss sports brand On presented a symbolically significant report card: The annual net sales exceeded 3 billion Swiss francs for the first time, reaching a record high and growing by 30% year-on-year. Among them, the sales in the fourth quarter increased by 22.6% to 743.8 million Swiss francs, exceeding analysts' expectations of 724.3 million Swiss francs. If this growth rate continues, the brand is likely to achieve the revenue target of 3.5 billion Swiss francs set by CEO Martin Hoffmann for the company ahead of schedule this year.

During the earnings conference call, Martin Hoffmann did not simply attribute this growth to the product cycle or channel expansion. Instead, he provided a more macro explanation: The consumption structure is changing.

"The traditional leisure class is giving way to the movement class," he said. "In the past, wealth was symbolized by leisure, a sedentary lifestyle, and overconsumption, but today people yearn for vitality."

In his view, this is not only a lifestyle trend but also a new social value ranking. "Today, status means investing in oneself. Health is the new wealth, and longevity is the ultimate luxury."

When explaining the brand's growth logic to analysts, he even made a somewhat provocative judgment - those sports brands that rely on scale expansion and win by quantity are gradually losing their appeal. He predicted that the sales this year will grow by at least 23%. Although it is slower than the 30% in 2025, it still significantly outperforms almost all competitors.

This statement is not unfounded. At the beginning of the year, Bank of America gave a relatively cautious forecast for the prospects of the sports footwear and apparel industry, believing that the weakening consumption cycle might drag down the industry's growth. However, the market development this year seems to tell a different story: The sports lifestyle remains one of the most dynamic consumption areas at present - Traditional giants are gradually regaining their growth rhythm through product innovation, merger and acquisition transactions among brands are active, and local brands are continuously going global. Sub - sports cultures such as running, tennis, cycling, and even padel are also continuously entering people's daily lives, bringing new growth opportunities to the market.

This trend was also confirmed in an exchange between 36Kr and On founder Olivier Bernhard. When he was interviewed in Shanghai last year, he mentioned that the boundaries of people's clothing are rapidly blurring.

"You can wear sportswear from a yoga studio to a coffee shop and then directly to the office," he said. "Such scenarios are becoming more and more common."

Against this background, On is entering a crucial stage in its brand history.

At the end of last year, the company made an important strategic adjustment: Clothing is no longer just an extension of the footwear business but will be operated as an independent business unit - internally referred to as "company - in - company". The core goal of this adjustment is very clear: to build clothing into a truly high - end category rather than just a supporting product.

The pricing strategy is the most intuitive part. On has set a relatively clear pricing range for its clothing products: The prices of summer products and accessories are mostly concentrated around 500 yuan, while winter products are generally priced above 1000 yuan. More importantly, these products rarely participate in discount promotions and maintain a strategy of selling at close to full price across different channels. For a sports brand still in a stage of rapid expansion, this kind of pricing discipline is not common.

"Simply put, clothing will play a very crucial role in On's business in the future," said Britt Olsen, the brand's Chief Commercial Officer, to 36Kr. "This is also why retail space is so important to us. Consumers need to touch the materials, feel the products, and understand the logic behind the design in person."

This change in strategy has become very obvious in the retail space.

On March 6, On opened its largest flagship store in China to date at MixC World in Shenzhen, covering an area of 802 square meters, more than 300 square meters larger than its previous store in Taikoo Li, Chengdu. The store has a two - story structure and almost fully presents the brand's entire product line - from running, comprehensive training, tennis, outdoor sports to sports lifestyle series.

On's flagship store at MixC World in Shenzhen

The visual center on the first floor still belongs to running shoes. Four classic models equipped with the iconic CloudTec technology are placed in the street - facing window, highly recognizable. The newly released Cloudmonster 3 also made its debut on the opening day: The fluorescent lemon - colored upper is paired with an exaggerated three - layer honeycomb - shaped CloudTec midsole structure, continuing to visualize the concept of "shock absorption".

In contrast, the second - floor space is more like a materials laboratory. The entrance area showcases the brand's technological investment in clothing fabrics - three types of jackets are designed for different climate environments, each emphasizing breathability, sun protection, or thermal insulation performance. Further inside is a more lifestyle - oriented area: Children's shoes, yoga wear, and casual clothing are neatly displayed. On the opening day, the co - branded series with Sky High Farm was placed here. This public welfare organization focusing on agricultural and natural issues has a distinct Gen Z cultural attribute, which is also one of the groups On hopes to attract.

In fact, similar large - scale flagship stores are gradually becoming the new standard for On's retail network. Among the 10 new directly - operated stores opened by the company in 2025, most are larger urban flagship spaces. According to the management, these stores are not only sales channels but also brand experience centers.

Judging from the data, this strategy is taking effect. In the past quarter, the clothing business continued to maintain high double - digit growth, becoming the fastest - growing category within the company. For many consumers in emerging markets, On is not just a running shoe brand but a complete footwear and apparel brand, which is an "encouraging signal" for the company.

Different from the early model of relying on wholesale channels to sell running shoes, clothing is mostly sold through the brand's own stores and online channels. This channel structure not only helps maintain a higher gross profit margin but also allows the brand to establish a more direct connection with consumers.

However, expanding from a running shoe brand to a footwear and apparel brand is not without risks. Many sports brands that have risen in niche markets have faced similar challenges when expanding their product lines: Once the category expansion is too rapid, the brand's original technological label may be diluted. The reason is simple. For consumers, a pair of professional running shoes can convey its technological content within a few seconds - the shape, sole design, and even weight are all obvious at a glance. However, it takes a longer time to understand the performance of a running jacket.

A more subtle challenge lies in the aesthetic balance. If the design is too technical and lacks fashionable expression, the product may be difficult to attract a wider range of consumers; but if it pursues trends too much, it may bring inventory pressure and even weaken the brand's professional image.

Alex Griffin, the brand's Chief Marketing Officer, also has to admit that this is a more complex business.

"On's design language has always been restrained and simple," he told 36Kr. "It is easy to understand this language in footwear products. However, in the field of clothing, it doesn't catch the eye as quickly as some exaggerated designs."

In his view, truly top - tier brands usually have similar design ideas: simple, restrained, and textured appearance. He gave us an example of the LightSpray Cloudboom Strike, a running shoe with smooth lines and a simple design, which is one of the results of the brand's fully automated spraying process, Lightspray. Not long ago, On established a factory with 32 robots in Busan, South Korea, to produce running shoes equipped with Lightspray technology, which means On's robot production capacity will increase by 30 times. Before that, On's design engineering was concentrated in Zurich.

Alex Griffin believes that the breakthrough point for establishing differentiation still lies in technology itself - it just needs to be told in a more understandable way. "In the future, we must make these innovations more accessible."

If On's early success came from a pair of running shoes with a highly recognizable structure, then its future growth will largely depend on whether the brand can extend this technological narrative to a broader product world - from the feet to the entire body.

In Martin Hoffmann's view, this is exactly what On has the greatest chance of achieving. At the end of the earnings conference call, he mentioned again the concept that has been repeatedly emphasized - the "movement class". In this emerging consumer group, sports are no longer just a way of exercise but an expression of identity. For On, this means that the brand's competition is no longer limited to the running shoe market but has entered a larger stage - a high - end consumption world centered around health, sports, and lifestyle.

"We hope that consumers, especially female consumers, can understand how a product strikes a balance between aesthetics, comfort, and performance," Britt Olsen added at the end.

In a sense, this is On's most important task at the current stage.