It’s On: Upstart Swiss Athletics Brand Outshines Rivals by Treating Sneakers Like Birkin Bags 

Swiss sneaker brand On is off to the races. Much of the competition is busy trying to tie their shoelaces.

The upstart sportswear firm raised its full-year guidance for the third straight quarter on Wednesday and reported double-digit growth in defiance of struggles at other sneaker firms. What sets it apart? For one, it’s playing a totally different marketing game than its rivals.

Turning On the Swiss Charm

In September, the world’s largest sneaker company, Nike, said it expected sales in its current quarter to fall by a low single-digit percentage. The Oregon-based giant, whose shares are down 15% this year, is in the midst of a turnaround effort that executives have cautioned will take time. Bloated inventory and tariff charges of up to $1.5 billion this year are among the factors weighing down the iconic swoosh.

Deckers, meanwhile, also advised last month that sales of Hoka, its own upstart rival to On, will grow by a percentage in the low teens in fiscal 2026, down markedly from 24% a year earlier. Decker shares are down 58% this year. 

Shares in On, which have declined 24% this year, have faced their own struggles. Wednesday, however, they surged 18% on the company’s latest results. Sales rose 25% year-over-year to 794 million Swiss francs ($995 million). Net income of CHF 142 million ($178 million) was nearly triple the CHF 50 million ($63 million) from a year earlier. The Zurich-based company said it expects to keep it up, offering a 2025 net sales guidance of CHF 2.98 billion ($3.76 billion), up from CHF 2.91 billion. Behind their confidence is a luxury-fied Swiss twist:

• On’s shoes are available in stores next to Nike’s, but the company markets them like Swiss luxury goods. Its Cloudmonster running shoe line starts at $170, and executives have openly talked of raising prices so they can keep investing in new technology and lightweight designs to offer high-end products to high-income, high-loyalty customers.
• The investments have paid off, as On has become popular with influencers and athletes. Distance runner Geordie Beamish, hurdler Ditaji Kambundji and sprinter Isabell Whittaker won the company’s first-ever World Athletics Championships gold medals in Tokyo this year, while Kenya’s Hellen Obiri smashed the 22-year-old women’s record in the New York Marathon in a pair of the company’s Cloudboom Strike LS sneakers.

Committed to the Bit: While other shoemakers and retailers will likely roll out their usual seasonal discounts to fuel sales around the holidays, On says you can expect nothing of the sort from them. Not even on Black Friday.