Around 2008 Olivier Bernhard (Saint Gallen, Switzerland, 55 years old) stepped on a hose and shouted eureka! I was then a long-distance triathlete and duathlete, a high-level Ironman and even more curious, who was thinking about the idea of running shoes that were comfortable, with a sole that cushioned the steps well, and that at the same time at the same time propel them, allowing the ground to return the energy that was deposited in it with each step. He cut a hose into small portions, which he glued to the soles of the shoes he usually wore for running. The shoes were so monstrous that the friends he gave them to try called them Frankenstein and they seemed so pathetic to an engineer from a traditional brand that, as soon as he saw them, he laughed in his face. “This is stupid,” he told her. “Don’t even think about investing your money in them.” But after trying them for two weeks, he came back and said, “Hey, they seem to work, maybe you can do some business.”
Bernhard then met his friends Caspar Coppetti and David Allemann for an excursion through the Engadines, the lakes and valleys surrounding St. Moritz, the places of his childhood, and after four or five days of thinking about it, they decided. They patented the soles with the pieces of hose that made it seem like one was stepping on the clouds and On was born, a brand that just 15 years later, in the year 2023, had global sales worth 1,792 million dollars (1,659 million euros). at the current exchange rate), is listed on the stock market—with a capitalization of 11.5 billion—and in August it will host some of the best athletes at the Paris Olympic Games. The business is going from strength to strength and this week they have improved the income target for the whole year: 2.25 billion dollars.
![On sneakers from the brand's creator Olivier Bernhard.](https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JZNRY3PXMNAR5ECIBXGRINVG6I.jpg?auth=2d9cb4d0fbbb8a0fc4ea81d4bb91a758ec646bca4f71a56bebf868b3cfe23657&width=414)
As a symbol of its origins and its philosophy, a huge mummified tree, a fir tree transported from the mountains, green leaves and exposed roots, occupies the center, suspended in the air, of the large lobby of the 17-story building recently built in the area. from Zurich West. About 1,000 of the firm’s more than 2,000 employees work there, in its laboratories and headquarters.
On’s figures are far from those of the giants of the sector, Nike’s $51 billion in revenue in 2023, Adidas’ $23 billion or Puma’s $9.3 billion, the champions of the technological revolution in sneakers that have transformed world athletics and generated a cascade of records. At On, which can compete technologically with them, they don’t even look at them. They are in another league, or so explains Bernhard, who, like the other two co-founders, holds a position on the company’s executive board. “We have a clear objective. We want to be the best premium sportswear brand, the first that is based on innovation and performance. This includes quality to compete in athletics and also sustainability. We know that many of the products we use, including ours, are not very sustainable. And we can do it much better,” says Bernhard in an interview held in Sankt Moritz (Switzerland) during the presentation of his athlete training program to which EL PAÍS was invited. “We are a brand that cares not only about athletes, we care about any consumer. It’s more than just making money, just selling sneakers. We can create something so that our employees or our athletes are super proud to wear this logo and want to run for us because they can also contribute to making better products. Protecting the environment, how we treat the people we employ, not just the salary, right, but also how we care about them. So it’s more than just beating Nike. We have the opportunity to become a better company in terms of value,” argues the former athlete.
While the biggest ones are present in all sports and in all sectors, in the world of highly competitive sports, On solo focuses on triathlon, athletics and tennis, where it dresses and wears the world number one, the Polish Iga Swiatek. And Roger Federer has around 4% of the shares, is photographed in his white sneakers and, in compliance with the company motto — “the athlete is always at the center” — he stops by the research laboratory regularly to collaborate with engineers in the design of new models.
On does not invest in expensive advertising campaigns. Their sneakers are sold in exclusive places, where they are prohibited from displaying sales signs. Their price exceeds 150 euros per pair and those manufactured in collaboration with Loewe, luxury shoes for runners and walkers, reach 600 euros. “When we started collaborating with Loewe, to put their logo on some of our products, they criticized us a lot. Some athletes came and told us, ‘what are you, a fashion brand or one that thinks about a better product for athletes?'” says Bernhard, who always dresses like an athlete. “I think that’s what’s interesting, knowing that there is a tension between the two worlds, between being a luxury brand and being a high-performance sports brand, looking for a way to build a bridge between both.”
And the future? “I am 56 years old and I still dream. We like to be different, do things differently. “Everything comes from my personality, clearly, but also from my upbringing: an athlete has to embrace change,” Bernhard continues. “We like to challenge the status quo, not because what is done today or what our competitors are doing is done incorrectly or badly, but sometimes it may just be time to change things and do them in a different way. We love to challenge.”
Like all sports actors, On also wants to present great innovations for the Paris Games, but, Bernhard warns, theirs are not about new atomic carbon plates or floating foams. “When the Games arrive, we will announce our new program, which is super sustainable. And I’m sure it’s going to change the industry. Not tomorrow, but in the next five to ten years. Because we will go from the 20 parts that a shoe consists of to only three parts. And we can produce in Spain, we can even have production in Portugal, in Turkey, in Switzerland. Wherever we sell sneakers, we can have production.” Current production, like everyone else, is carried out in China and Vietnam.
“I always want things to change. It’s boring if one day is like the previous one and the next. And that’s why I still like to dream. That’s also why in the company we say “she keeps dreaming.” And that’s why we say to each and every employee, do you have a dream? Tell us. Whatever it is,” she concludes.
Follow all the information Economy and Business in Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_
#Olivier #Bernhard #prophet #sneakers