Walk into Selfridges, Fifth Avenue or Galeries Lafayette and look at where On is positioned. The brand sits alongside premium fashion and lifestyle labels.
Then walk into a major marathon in New York, Boston, or Berlin and look at the feet of the runners. On is there too.
It has managed to become both a high-performance athletic brand and a premium lifestyle brand at the same time, something the sportswear industry has historically struggled to achieve.
The origin story is well known and covered by a lot of the publications. Olivier Bernhard, a former professional triathlete and multiple-time Powerman Duathlon World Champion, became frustrated with running shoes designed by major brands that ignored athlete feedback. Searching for a shoe that combined soft landings with explosive push-offs, he began experimenting with prototypes built from cut-up garden hose pieces attached to running shoe soles. After larger brands rejected the concept, Bernhard partnered with engineers in Switzerland and co-founded On in 2010 alongside David Allemann.
What matters now and we’ll uncover is what the company has become.
In Q4 2025, On posted a gross margin of 63.9%, the highest fourth-quarter margin in its history. Full-year gross margin reached 62.8%, while adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 18.8%. Net sales hit CHF 3.014 billion, growing 30% reported and 35.6% constant currency.
Traditional athletic footwear companies do not normally operate at such margin levels. Most major sportswear brands typically generate gross margins between 44% and 48%. Margins above 60% are usually associated with luxury groups like LVMH or Hermès.
This is the real story behind On.
How a Swiss running brand evolved into one of the most commercially sophisticated premium consumer companies in global sport, how it built credibility in elite performance while expanding into fashion and culture, and why the company’s long-term financial profile increasingly resembles a soft luxury business rather than a traditional athletic footwear company.
Let’s dive into it…