After selling running shoes worth 26 billion yuan in a year, what else does On Running want to sell?

Text | He Zhexin

Editor | Qiao Qian

In the just - released Q4 2025 financial report, 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, with a year - on - year increase of 30%. 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 gave a more macro - level 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 over - consumption, but today people crave vitality more."

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 will increase by at least 23% this year. 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 consumer sectors at present - Traditional giants are gradually regaining their growth rhythm through product innovation, mergers and acquisitions 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 the public life, 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 dressing 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 backdrop, On is entering a crucial stage in its brand history.

At the end of last year, the company made an important strategic adjustment: Clothing will no longer be just an extension of the footwear business but will be operated as a business unit with independent logic - 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 simply a supporting product.

The pricing strategy is the most intuitive part of it. On has set a relatively clear pricing range for its clothing products: The prices of summer products and accessories mostly range 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 almost 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. "That's 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 Shenzhen MixC World, covering an area of 802 square meters, more than 300 square meters larger than its previous store in Chengdu Taikoo Li. The store has a two - story structure and almost fully presents the brand's entire product line - from running, comprehensive training, and tennis to outdoor sports, and then to the sports lifestyle series.

On's flagship store at Shenzhen MixC World

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 mid - sole 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 heat preservation 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 just 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 can not only maintain a higher gross profit margin but also enable the brand to establish a more direct connection with consumers.

However, expanding from a running shoe brand to an 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 technical label may be diluted. The reason is simple. For consumers, a pair of professional running shoes can often convey its technical content within a few seconds - the shape structure, sole design, and even the weight are all obvious at a glance. However, it takes a longer time to understand the performance of a running jacket.

An even more delicate challenge lies in the aesthetic balance. If the design is too technical and lacks fashionable expression, the product may have difficulty attracting 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. "This language is easy to understand in footwear products. But in the apparel field, 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 simple design, which is one of the results of the brand's fully automatic 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 for establishing differentiation still lies in the 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 technical narrative to a broader product world - from the feet to the whole body.

In Martin Hoffmann's view, this is exactly what On has the best chance to achieve. 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 a form of identity expression. For On, this means that the brand's competition is no longer limited to the running shoe market but has entered a larger arena - a high - end consumer world centered around health, sports, and lifestyle.

"We hope that consumers, especially female consumers, can understand how a product achieves 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.