Sitting of their Zurich headquarters, On’s sanguine co-CEO, Martin Hoffmann, and his colleague and On co-founder Caspar Coppetti, have cause to be relaxed. One other quarter of surprising development has notched one other $3 billion to their model’s worth.
There may be an elephant within the room, nonetheless. It’s not taking on a lot room although, given the elephant is a newly-empty seat on the CEO desk.
Hoffmann will quickly tackle the function of On’s CEO alone when his co-CEO Marc Maurer leaves the corporate in June. Maurer stated he deliberate to embark on a “new chapter” in his skilled life after greater than 14 years on the firm.
Maurer and Hoffmann each joined On from Swiss meals retailer Valora in 2012 and 2013, respectively, as COO and CFO, with Maurer wooing his pal over to what was then a little-known working startup. The pair has operated as co-CEOs since 2021.
From July, although, Hoffmann, a monetary whizz by commerce and by nature, will take the reins of On alone, with out Maurer to lean on.
“I had a extremely sturdy relationship with Marc and a deep, deep friendship,” Hoffmann advised Fortune following the discharge of On’s first-quarter earnings.
“I’ll miss that, however we now have been tremendous shut, principally in all components of the enterprise, along with totally different focuses. However there are not any blind spots, and we aren’t altering technique.”
Hoffmann, whose precedence will shift from his present twin function as CFO, admits he loves numbers as a lot as he does folks. For a corporation higher recognized for design, innovation, and funky collaborations with Gen Z idols, finance might want to take a backseat.
“The power of On will not be the numbers, it is the workforce,” stated Hoffmann.
“My purpose was to allow this workforce to be at their greatest. And I do not suppose this adjustments. The main focus from the place I do it can change, however the perspective stays the identical.”
Hoffmann might hardly take sole cost of On in a greater place.
On Tuesday, the group reported a 43% surge in income within the first quarter of 2025 in contrast with a 12 months earlier, whereas it elevated its income and profitability steering for the remainder of the 12 months.
The final quarter marked the second in a row that On beat its income expectations.
New model partnerships, together with a February Tremendous Bowl commercial that includes tennis nice and On investor, Roger Federer, and Elmo, have helped the corporate defy short-run expectations inside a wider purpose of doubling gross sales between 2023 and 2026.
On wrapped up its earnings week by hitting a file valuation of $19.65 billion as traders piled into the working model within the wake of the shock outcomes, having began the week valued at round $16 billion. On is now the third most useful publicly traded footwear model on the planet behind Nike and Adidas.
The group’s surge has come as these legacy sportswear firms have regressed. Shares in Nike have plunged greater than 15% for the reason that begin of the 12 months, whereas Adidas shares have fallen greater than 8%. On, in the meantime, has risen in worth by 8% this 12 months. With a present working shoe market share of round 10%, the corporate’s management is laser-focused on driving this even increased.
“Our long-term imaginative and prescient is to be the primary model in working,” Coppetti advised Fortune.
On’s advertising and marketing
Attending to the mantle of the primary working model actually seems to be much more life like now than when its co-founders first began experimenting with strapping hose pipes to the underside of conventional trainers. It’s, nonetheless, a distinct path from the one which introduced On thus far.
On developed as a challenger model largely via word-of-mouth advertising and marketing and an opportunistic increase in working amongst youthful folks, whose increased disposable revenue, social media consciousness, and newfound give attention to health have proved a goldmine for the athletic model.
“I feel we’re benefiting from this well being and wellness pattern the place youthful adults… they’ll the fitness center slightly than going to the bar,” stated Coppetti. The group’s profitable partnership with Zendaya hasn’t damage its attraction with younger prospects both.
“We’re fairly obsessed,” Coppetti says about persevering with to boost On’s model recognition.
The corporate has been forensic in transitioning from a web-based mannequin to erecting bodily shops, contemplating precisely the place to position every of its 53 shops, proper right down to the road nook, to take care of its exclusivity whereas rising.
“We do not need to overshoot, and that permits us to, for instance, be very selective with retail companions we need to work with, or which shops we need to be in, which road, which nook of that road we need to have our retailer on and all of it feeds into this premium positioning,” says Coppetti.
On’s two London shops exemplify that technique, with one situated on the unique Regent’s Road, and the opposite within the fashionable east-side purchasing zone of Spitalfields. Coppetti notes some 200 folks participate in a run membership from that retailer frequently. You will be fairly assured that an On rep will make an undercover look at different run golf equipment, too.
“We really exit and we go to the foremost working routes within the huge cities, and we go and depend folks, and we see what merchandise they’re sporting, each footwear and attire,” Coppetti stated.
The corporate does the identical at working occasions. On will get extra lower via amongst brief distance runners, as much as half marathon distances. It’s hoping to seize extra marathon runners when it launches its “tremendous sneakers” later this 12 months.
There shall be different challenges alongside the best way. Nonetheless a nascent model, On hasn’t but proved it will probably experience out demand dips and transfer past fears that it’s a “fad” shoe. And regardless of having operations within the U.S., the Swiss model isn’t any much less uncovered to tariffs than its rivals. Nonetheless, On is planning worth will increase this 12 months, unrelated to tariffs, and CEO Hoffmann prospects are prepared to remain on the experience, nonetheless bumpy issues get.
“We need to be essentially the most premium world sports activities model, and premium is the decisive phrase right here,” Hoffmann says. “And in case you are clear in regards to the North Star, we even have clear path in sorts of uncertainties like this.”
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
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