13 years ago, On entered a saturated market with its running shoes. The Swiss start-up was able to assert itself and even won the “Swiss Economic Forum” award in 2014. Co-founder Caspar Coppetti visited the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF) again this year and shared how On was able to be successful.
Before you co-founded On, you experimented with garden hoses on the sole. What was the plan then?
Caspar Coppetti: We primarily made this technology for ourselves. Many runners experience pain while running. This is a very repetitive movement. And my co-founder Olivier Bernhard worked with a Swiss engineer and developed a system that made it possible to run pain-free and injury-free.
We canceled the project twice.
Then the question was: How can we make the shoes for ourselves? When it comes to shoes, you can’t just make five pairs, you have to produce large quantities. So we said we need to start a business.
There are many large sporting goods manufacturers. Where did you get the courage to enter this competitive market? Were there any doubts?
There were many doubts. We had the courage because we had a different technology. It’s patented, so we felt we had a small chance. But it wasn’t easy for us either. We’ve been thinking back and forth for two years: should we or shouldn’t we? We canceled the project twice. It was hanging by a thread that On even exists today. At some point we gathered this courage.
Your company has gone public in the United States. Does the home market of Switzerland still play an important role?
He plays a very important role. It’s our environment. We’ve almost become the uniform of the Swiss, which makes us extremely happy. The Swiss culture is in On and we also export it to our subsidiaries around the world.
We’re at eight percent worldwide wearing On shoes.
What a lot of people are not aware of: people from abroad really like coming to Switzerland to work. We are dependent on specialists, especially in shoe manufacture or in technology, which do not exist in Switzerland. People come to us from Tokyo, Los Angeles or from all over the world because Switzerland also has the best quality of life.
Your shoes have become a lifestyle product. Doesn’t that bother you?
In the beginning that bothered us because we make high-tech running products. Since running shoes are so comfortable, you naturally like to wear them often. Last but not least, fashion has also changed with the pandemic. Here at the Swiss Economic Forum I also see many people in suits with sneakers. Because we have the longest history in Switzerland, we are also well positioned here. Meanwhile, in the US, two-thirds of people use the shoes for jogging.
But the main goal remains a shoe for athletes – not only in running, but also in tennis?
Yes. Our unassuming goal is to be number one on the feet of runners. We regularly go to the big runs and count what people are wearing. We’re at eight percent worldwide wearing On shoes. In tennis we have built something through the partnership with Roger Federer. Now we are very happy that the world number one, Iga Swiatek, is in the final of the French Open in On shoes. There are other rising players as well.
Vera Deragisch conducted the conversation.