In September 2021, roughly 11 years after On Running’s inception in Zurich, the company was readying itself to go public on the New York Stock exchange.
It was the next logical step for the company founded in 2010 by Swiss Ironman champion Olivier Bernhard, in partnership with David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti. On’s beginning saw it up against significant odds; afterall, disrupting a sportswear industry dominated by legacy brands is no easy feat. But by 2019, On held 40% of the running shoe market in its home country Switzerland, and by 2021, the United States was On's biggest sales-related market.
October last year marked two years since On’s IPO listing, in which time the company doubled its revenue, reaching nearly $2 billion. It was a success that cemented the brand’s path to becoming a global premium sportswear brand.
While On largely stayed in the running and athletics space for the first nine years, things shifted when tennis legend Roger Federer entered the picture as an investor in 2019—it was he who made contact with the brand’s founders.
Speaking to Forbes in 2021, co-founder and executive co-chairman David Alleman said, “Switzerland is a small country … At some point he called us and said, ‘Let me buy you dinner.’ And so we had dinner together [and] he said: ‘I'm a big fan of your product, everybody around me is wearing them.’ We said, ‘Hey, why don’t you become a co-entrepreneur together with us?’”
In addition to becoming an investor, Federer worked with On to develop the brand’s first tennis competition shoe, THE ROGER Pro. The shoe was released in June 2021 and signaled the brand’s official entry into the tennis world—but On was yet to sign any tennis players as On athletes.
The brand had previously brokered sponsorship deals with some of the world’s most successful athletes, among the likes of Boston and New York City Marathon winner Hellen Obiri and Olympic triathlon champion Kristian Blummenfelt. In the case of tennis, On was looking for players who were equally as brilliant, but also reflected the brand’s position in tennis as a trailblazing up and comer.
They found this in current world No. 1 women's singles player Iga Swiatek and world No.16 men’s singles player Ben Shelton, signing both as On athletes in March 2023. Of the two athletes Federer said in a statement at the time, "Iga and Ben represent the next generation of world-class talent … Both players demonstrate On's competitive spirit and embody current and future champions of the sport.”
Indeed, at the time of her signing, Swiatek had already held the WTA No. 1 spot for just over a year, and was fresh off a 37-match winning streak in 2022—the second longest streak in women’s tennis since 1992.
In the case of Shelton, On’s early judgment that he was to become the sport’s next breakout star proved prophetic. Following signing with On, Shelton competed in his first Grand Slam—the US Open—and went on to become the youngest American man to reach the US Open semi-finals since Michael Chang in 1992.
Swiatek and Shelton were recently in Melbourne for the Australian Open, with both making it to round 3 of their respective tournaments before being defeated. In early January at the start of the tennis season, On hosted an event at Albert Park Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, Thanks For Playing.
The first Thanks For Playing event was held in New York last year at Brooklyn’s Fort Greene courts in the lead up to the US Open. Six courts were transformed into a professional arena, giving everyday players the opportunity to play and feel like pros. On the day, Swiatek, Shelton and Federer himself showed up to the event to surprise the community.
Similarly, the Melbourne event ushered in the Australian tennis season, and was a celebration of Swiatek and Shelton, as well as the local tennis community. Members of the club had the coveted opportunity to hit it out with Swiatek and one another, all while generously decked out in On kits.
Speaking of the Melbourne Thanks For Playing event, On's Oceania Key Account Lead Marc Sundstrom said, “It’s been amazing, I think just having a small, local tennis community to partner with for an event like this has just been a dream.
“Being able to bring someone like Iga into a local community like this has been perfect.”
