On Holding AG is a Swiss athletic shoe and performance sportswear company founded in 2010 by Olivier Bernhard - a former Swiss Ironman champion - alongside David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti. The company is built around its proprietary CloudTec cushioning technology, in which pod-shaped "clouds" on the outsole provide cushioned landing and locked push-off. On listed on the NYSE in September 2021, raising approximately $746 million. In 2024, the company reported sales of CHF 2.32 billion, a 29.4% year-on-year increase, with net profit rising 204.5% to CHF 242.3 million. As of 2019, On held 40% of the running shoe market in Switzerland and 10% in Germany; in the United States, it accounts for 6.6% of the performance running shoe category. Globally, as of 2024, On is estimated at 2% of the total athletic footwear market. Martin Hoffmann has served as sole CEO since April 2025.

No named head of design or creative director is documented in the source. Olivier Bernhard, co-founder, is documented as focused on "product and innovation" - establishing the CloudTec technology's aesthetic and functional identity. The Cloudboom Strike LS (2024) demonstrates a technically ambitious design direction: removing conventional component assembly in favour of continuous filament deposition. The brand's two aesthetic registers - performance/technical and lifestyle/fashion - are documented but no individual design leads are named.

• 2010: Founded as a sporting goods company by Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann, and Caspar Coppetti
• CloudTec concept originated from Bernhard experimenting with garden hose shapes; prototype presented to Nike and rejected; developed independently
• 2012: Cloudracer performance shoe released; favoured by Swiss triathlete Nicola Spirig
• 2019: Products sold in 6,000 retailers in 55 countries; 40% Switzerland running shoe market share; Roger Federer becomes shareholder (November 2019)
• July 2020: "The Roger" - first Federer-named lifestyle shoe - released as limited edition
• September 2021: NYSE IPO; raised approximately $746 million
• 2022: Cloudboom Strike LS launched for 2024 Olympic Games (robotic single-filament upper); bobsleigh shoes produced for 2022 Winter Olympics
• March 2022: Cloudmonster launched (larger, maximalist sole)
• March 2023: On signs Iga Świątek, Ben Shelton, and João Fonseca to head-to-toe tennis deals
• June 2024: Flavio Cobolli (Italian men's tennis) added to sponsorship roster
• 2024: CHF 2.32B revenue, +29.4% YoY; profit CHF 242.3M, +204.5%
• January 2021-March 2025: Marc Maurer and Martin Hoffmann served as Co-CEOs
• April 2025: Martin Hoffmann assumes sole CEO role
• Founders remain active: Allemann and Coppetti as Executive Co-Chairmen; Bernhard focused on product and innovation
• Production relocated from China to Indonesia and Vietnam

• Running shoes - Cloud series (Cloud, Cloudflow, Cloudstratus, Cloudmonster, etc.); Cloudboom Strike LS (2024 Olympics competition shoe); the Roger (lifestyle shoe, Roger Federer collaboration)
• Performance apparel - sportswear for running, tennis, training, outdoor, and lifestyle
• Accessories - documented in YAML retail categories
• Bobsleigh shoes - custom footwear produced for 2022 Winter Olympics
• Tennis footwear and apparel - head-to-toe deals with Świątek, Shelton, Fonseca, Cobolli

On sells through a network of 6,000+ retail partners (as of 2019) globally and through its own e-commerce and company stores. Production has been relocated from China to Indonesia and Vietnam. The company's own professional running team, On Athletics Club (coached by Dathan Ritzenhein), functions as an applied test-and-promotion vehicle for performance products. No licensing agreements for products or brand extensions are documented in the source. NYSE-listed under the ticker ONON.

On operates in the premium performance running and sports lifestyle segment, positioned against Nike, Adidas, Hoka, and New Balance. The company has built a distinctive dual identity: credible performance footwear used by Olympic athletes and professional tennis players, alongside a lifestyle crossover appeal documented by The Wall Street Journal (2022) noting the brand had "won over tech bros and high fashion alike." The Cloudmonster - described as a "maximalist sneaker" - explicitly encroaches on Hoka's territory. The American market is On's largest single market. Estimated 2% global athletic footwear market share (2024) positions it as a disruptor well below Nike and Adidas but growing rapidly (heading toward $20B market cap as of 2025 reporting).

On's surface pattern design relevance sits primarily in the areas of performance footwear engineering and sportswear graphic design.

CloudTec outsole as surface design identity - the "Cloud" pod formation on the sole of all On shoes is the brand's most visually distinctive surface feature. The arrangement of hollow cylindrical pods across the outsole creates a consistently recognisable textured surface pattern unique to On across all footwear models. This is a structural surface design decision - the CloudTec pattern is both the technology and the brand's primary visual differentiator when viewed from any angle. The 2012 Cloudracer and every subsequent model share this outsole surface language.

Cloudboom Strike LS upper construction - the 2024 Olympic competition shoe uses a robotically deposited single continuous filament of synthetic material to form the upper - reducing component count from 150-200 to seven. This construction technique produces a surface structure defined by the robotic deposition path rather than assembled panels, creating a continuous woven/deposited surface texture. Described in the NYT (2024) as potentially "the craziest sneaker you have ever seen." The process also enables on-demand manufacturing and reduced waste - a significant technical direction for performance footwear surface engineering.

Performance apparel and seasonal colour - On's sportswear apparel (running, tennis, training) involves seasonal colour and graphic decisions across the product range. The company's head-to-toe athlete deals (Świątek, Shelton, Fonseca, Cobolli) require coordinated surface design across footwear and apparel - a full outfitting function at competitive tennis level.

Swiss identity on product surfaces - the source documents a product image showing the Swiss flag at the heel of the On Cloud running shoe, indicating national identity used as a brand surface motif.

Lifestyle crossover - the Roger Federer lifestyle shoe and the "tech bros and high fashion" positioning indicate deliberate design decisions that move On's footwear surface language into fashion-adjacent territory.