The Swiss footwear brand On a mission to own the premium performance space

Swiss sportswear brand On is leveraging global collaborations with Roger Federer, FKA Twigs and Loewe to build its premium performance brand in Australia.

On, the swiss footwear brand is launching its first Australian store in Melbourne.

Swiss sportswear brand On is launching its first store in Australia, as the hi-tech performance brand seeks to boost its local presence and grow sales and engagement in the market.

The launch of the store in Melbourne marks On’s first physical presence in the country, as it seeks to leverage the city’s status as Australia’s sports and fashion capital to engage with customers. The On brand has been available locally since 2017 via wholesale partnerships with retailers such as Rebel, Hype DC and The Athlete’s Foot and currently boasts 700 “doors” nationally for product sales.

The store launch is part of a strategy to bolster On brand and sales across the Asia-Pacific region as it taps into the booming sports apparel market. The company grew sales 73.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous year and said Australia had experienced “similarly strong growth”.

On, which launched in Switzerland in 2010, has built a global following for its hi-tech, design-led products which focus on blending performance and fashion to create premium products.

“Our brand sits at that fusion, where performance, innovation, lifestyle and fashion combine,” said On Oceania senior marketing lead Manuela Erlacher.

“Our vision is to be the most premium global sportswear brand that’s rooted in performance, design and sustainability. Everything we do has to have these three pillars. That’s not only the way we produce and bring our products to the market, but also the campaigns behind it.”

On’s marketing strategy employs a significant program of events and communities such as running clubs and Track Night events, both of which are up and running in Melbourne. On’s first Track Night attracted 3000 spectators and 200 athletes, while its first running club hit capacity of 150 runners just hours after inviting members to sign up.

On focuses on building communities of customers focused around areas of movement such as running clubs.

The On communities are crucial components for brand growth as they help create brand advocates and drive word of mouth marketing.

“When On started everything was word of mouth and the strategy was all about getting people in our shoes, letting them experience our product and ultimately becoming an advocate for us,” Erlacher said.

“We still believe today in this tool and this strategy. So that’s why we invest so much into our communities. The communities are at the heart of everything we do, the way we design our retail spaces, the way we bring to life our campaigns, and our events in the region.”

“Our retail space is more than just a retail space. It’s very much a community hub.”

The brand also invests in high profile collaborations, such as its recent limited edition shoe with premium fashion brand Loewe, and an activewear collaboration with British singer, dancer and actress FKA Twigs which launched via a performance at London Fashion Week last month. On also has an eclectic mix of brand ambassadors including Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, who is also an investor in the business; Australian athletes Claudia Hollingsworth and Peyton Craig; and US actress and singer Zendaya. Federer and Zendaya recently fronted a global campaign by the sportswear brand which aimed to leverage Federer’s performance credibility and Zendaya’s fashion clout and global reach.

On chief marketing officer Alex Griffin told The Growth Agenda the brand aimed to push the perceptions of how a performance sports brand looks as well as challenge the ideas of how athletes feel about design and fashion.

“The traditional view was that if you were into sports, you didn’t really care about design or about fashion,” Mr Griffin said.

“Humans really like to put people into boxes and say, this is fashion, and this is sports, and these are two completely separate spaces. I think we’ve managed to show that there’s an opportunity for these different sides to merge and feed each other.

“We think we are helping to change that idea and through our collaboration with Loewe, which is one of the hottest fashion brands on the planet at the moment, we’ve managed to show that an athlete can also love a fashion product.”

The brand’s focus on performance, design and sustainability are its key differentiators, however, Mr Griffin said performance is the most crucial to the brand’s future.

“If we lose performance, then we lose credibility and you lose authenticity. I think there are many brands in our space who take their eye off the ball with innovation and performance, and for us that’s something that we constantly self checking ourselves to make sure that we’re keeping true to that. You can get carried away with fashion. You can get carried away with lifestyle, but always making sure we’re creating the right, credible products.”

Mr Griffin points to the brand’s new Light Spray shoe, which launched at the Paris Olympics, that harnesses robotic technology to create a shoe from a single yarn, in a single spray that takes three minutes and cuts emissions by 75 per cent. He believes these sorts of innovation will ensure the brand stands out from the constant influx of new competitors and products.

When On opened its doors in Melbourne’s Emporium on Saturday, across the road was a pop-up store by footwear newcomer Hoka, which has been investing in marketing activity and pop-up stores around the country in recent months. Earlier this year, activewear giant Lululemon expanded to launch a footwear range and grow its market share. Meanwhile, longtime market heavyweight Nike is readying its comeback campaign following the return on chief executive Elliott Hill, after the company suffered significant declines in sales and revenues globally.

On, the Swiss sportswear brand has opened its first Australian store in Melbourne’s Emporium.

Mr Griffin said the brand has “ambitious” goals for growth and takes the increased competition in its stride.

“We’re a sports brand, so we understand that there’s competition and we have a healthy and respectful attitude to competition. We love to see what other brands are doing and sometimes you need that. If you’re an athlete and you just race yourself, that’s not much of a race. So it’s always great to have that. No one wants to race themselves and it’s nice to have some competition.

“I think it also helps us to know we’re on to a good thing. If there’s others in that space, then we know we’re doing something that’s useful. Sure, it’s a challenge. But a challenge is okay. Nobody asked for a brand from Switzerland to come and try to revolutionise running. We’re quite happy with the challenger idea.”

To help build more awareness in the market and support the store launch, On will run activity across out-of-home locations in Melbourne and Sydney in addition to digital media, pr and social media activity. The brand will also roll out localised executions from its global campaign featuring Zendaya to promote the brand to new audiences.