Rapid Response: On's 16-year overnight success: Zendaya, Federer, and outrunning competition

David Allemann (0:01)

We took a conscious decision to embrace a lot of risk and say, hey, it sounds crazy.

But crazy is good because the night is always the darkest before dawn. And you can imagine if you build over 16 years from zero to almost a four billion US dollar brand, you have to have a very, very strong execution engine or it will fall apart in that journey. So it's really an opportunity to build a brand that doesn't have to be ultimately the absolute biggest, but is the most premium brand of the future.

Bob Safian (0:38)

That's David Allemann, co-founder and co-CEO of Onn. Onn is the bellwether for a new generation of athletic footwear and apparel companies that are posing a significant challenge to the likes of Nike and Adidas. David explains how Onn is taking advantage of the increased visibility of sports in society, partnering with stars like Zendaya, Roger Federer and others, and appealing to what he calls the movement class. Whether you've ever slipped on a pair of Onn cloud shoes or not, David's insights will inspire you to keep moving, personally and in your business. So let's get to it. I'm Bob Zaffian and this is Rapid Response.

I'm here with David Allemann, the co-founder and co-CEO of Onn. David, great to sit down with you.

David Allemann (1:35)

Thank you very much for having me, Bob.

Bob Safian (1:37)

Onn has been an amazing growth story.

The lead player in sort of a new generation of athletic footwear and apparel companies. Is that how you see Onn as like the next big, global brand? I mean, you started with a unique sole design, which is also the way that Nike started with their waffle shoes. What is your plan?

David Allemann (2:01)

I think the plan is to be the most premium global sports brand, really based on innovation, but also on design.

At the end, it's about making sure that people are excited about sports, that they love to go out. I was out running at the Hudson this morning, was so inspiring because there's such a big group of runners out there. I think when you move, whether that's running or something else, something happens to your mind as well. That's really important for us via our mantra is dream on, and so that encapsulates it.

Bob Safian (2:37)

Sometimes I feel like when I go running here in New York, it's a race, even if there's not a race on, because there's so many people out running.

David Allemann (2:44)

It's New York pace, right? You have to overtake each other.

Bob Safian (2:47)

I mean, the legacy players in this space, they sort of didn't seem to see the competition rising that you're part of. I mean, Nike's struggling, Adidas seems to be finding its way a little bit. They're sort of the strivers like New Balance and Asics, and then there are other newer players like you, like Hoka, even apparel brands like Tracksmith or Bandit.

When you look at that sort of competitive landscape, is there a specific spot that on holds? How do you think about that, where you fit in that ecosystem?

David Allemann (3:24)

When we started in 2010, we saw an opportunity to really innovate with a radical new idea, which was cloud tech. It's not just having foam, a mattress underneath your foot, but engineering, really engineering the run and changing the feel of running. So we came always from an innovation space, and I think that's the unique approach that we keep to this day.

And I think it also coincides with a radical shift that sports used to be, probably when we started, still something that you do on the weekend.

Now sports and sports lifestyle has moved to the center of society. I think back in the days, you had what I would call the leisure class. It's very much about consumption. It's about owning things, but that has changed, hasn't it? Over the last 15 years, I think there's a new movement class coming along. Sports has moved to the very center of society. It's the last life moment. It's what brings people together. And it's a lot more about experience. It's about vitality. It's about longevity. Health is the new wealth. And I think whenever society changed, it has created a big opportunity for absolutely new brands that respond to that to become big.

Bob Safian (4:46)

In the field that you're in, like there are so many players, they get inspired by each other. They steal each other's ideas. Does it drive you crazy that sort of, you know, you have to keep, now someone else is trying to track what we were doing?