Swiss sportswear brand On is on a clear mission. During its highly anticipated investor day held at its headquarters in Zurich on Tuesday, the rapidly expanding athletic company detailed its comprehensive strategic roadmap for the next three years. As it continues to navigate its growth path as a publicly traded company, On’s leadership team emphasized that the foundation of its 2029 ambitions rests firmly inside what they describe as a "premium playbook."
Part of this forward-looking playbook involves aggressively expanding the brand’s footprint by adding exciting new categories to its existing business portfolio. Demonstrating the immediate momentum of this strategy, On made global headlines on Friday by announcing a surprising and high-profile deal with Real Madrid star forward Kylian Mbappé, who has been tapped to serve as the face of the brand’s newly minted football category.
According to the Swiss athletic firm, Mbappé will sit at the very heart of On’s upcoming football journey. The elite athlete will work directly alongside On’s product development teams, integrating his distinct perspective into the rigorous design, development, and testing phases of future football footwear and apparel, the company confirmed. Furthermore, Mbappé will step into the role of a global ambassador for On, extending the partnership far beyond the football pitch into broader realms of movement, athletic performance, and contemporary design.
Mbappé, whose professional journey has long been associated with Nike since 2006 when he was only eight years old—according to his personal website—expressed his enthusiasm in a formal statement. He noted that what ultimately drew him to On was the unique opportunity to build something entirely new together that will actively help shape tomorrow’s game.
The Power of High-Profile Partnerships
At the investor day event in Zurich, David Allemann, a founder and co-chief executive officer of On, shared staggering metrics regarding the immediate impact of the Mbappé announcement. Allemann revealed that the partnership drove an unprecedented $8 billion in earned media reach, marking the single most impactful media story in the company’s corporate history.
"In Mexico, 312 times our baseline reach," Allemann told the gathered audience, detailing the viral spread of the news. "In China, 344 times our baseline reach. Plus, a 50.5 percent share of voice in all football-related media mentions. Seventy-two percent of new followers we attracted since the announcement are under the age of 35, an organic social media response resulting in over 4,000 times the engagement of our comparable average. This is what football does to a brand’s relevance before we have sold a single boot."
Echoing these sentiments, Caspar Coppetti, fellow founder and co-chief executive officer of On, explained that the company’s decision to enter soccer was not merely driven by the sheer size of the market. Instead, Coppetti emphasized that at the highest, premium end of the sport, there remains an open lane for radical innovation directly on the pitch. The company confirmed that the very first range of On Football products is currently scheduled to hit the market in 2027.
Building on the immense attention generated by the soccer announcement, Coppetti revealed that On is also preparing to disrupt another massive global sport by officially entering the golf category in early 2027.
"It is no secret that many golfers are already playing in On shoes," Coppetti said. "What you might not know is that our chief design officer, Thilo Brunner, is a golf fanatic, as is our president and chief operating officer, Scott Maguire. And our partner, Roger, now plays more golf than tennis."
Coppetti outlined the brand’s overarching goal to disrupt the traditional golf market by translating the signature On premium playbook into entirely new sporting arenas, delivering products that perform at the absolute highest level alongside immersive experiences that seamlessly connect the golf course, the stadium, and the urban street.
Tennis legend Roger Federer, who made a surprise appearance at the Zurich investor day, shared his thoughts on the brand’s ongoing diversification and expressed his personal excitement regarding the company’s expansion into golf.
"Yes, retirement is good," Federer quipped to the audience. "You should try it out, by the way. It gives you more time to play golf. And obviously, I’m very excited to see that we have officially moved into golf. And I think we can maybe also use the blueprint from tennis when it comes to golf. I’m looking forward to everything that’s to come."
Five Pillars of the Premium Playbook
Delving deeper into the mechanics of the premium playbook, On executives outlined a five-step strategic framework designed to steer the brand toward sustainable, long-term growth. These pillars include the continuous delivery of innovative products, establishing deep credibility through elite athletes and cultural talent, curating premium consumer experiences, capturing high-quality financial earnings results, and aggressively investing in an ongoing internal culture of innovation.
To successfully anchor its next era of profitable expansion through fiscal year 2029, On has unveiled ambitious new financial targets. These targets are supported by three primary drivers of premium growth: achieving multi-dimensional top-line growth across diverse verticals, geographic regions, and distribution channels; maintaining an industry-leading gross profit margin; and capturing operating cost leverage alongside productivity gains as the business scales to new heights.
Over the course of the next three years, On anticipates generating constant currency growth in the high teens, with absolute net sales projected to reach at least 5.6 billion Swiss francs by 2029, which approaches the $7 billion threshold based on current foreign exchange rates.
Shifting to U.S. Dollar Reporting
In a significant financial update during the investor day presentation, Chief Financial Officer Frank Sluis informed stakeholders that the company will officially transition its corporate financial reporting to U.S. dollars as early as 2027.
"The majority of our net sales, product costs, and operating costs sit outside Swiss francs, and reporting in francs has meant a significant part of what you see every quarter is merely translation," Sluis explained to the audience. "Moving to dollars puts the reporting currency much closer to the underlying economics of the business and aligns directly with our share price currency. And we believe that will enable you to have more clarity in understanding the results and how we communicate to you going forward."
Addressing the company’s profitability targets, Sluis reiterated On’s firm commitment to maintaining an industry-leading gross profit margin of 65 percent or higher throughout the upcoming three-year planning horizon. Furthermore, the company outlined its strategic ambition to achieve an adjusted EBITDA margin exceeding 22 percent by the year 2029.
"We have a plan for over 75 percent of the absolute net sales addition to come from the three key priorities you have heard a lot about today: run, lifestyle—led by our growing sneaker ambition—and apparel," Sluis added.
Reiterated Financial Outlook and Near-Term Expectations
Shifting focus to the immediate financial horizon, On officially reiterated its full-year 2026 financial outlook. The guidance projects constant currency net sales growth to sit comfortably in the low-20 percent range, supported by a gross profit margin of at least 65.0 percent and an adjusted EBITDA margin anticipated to land between 19.5 percent and 20.0 percent.
Company officials noted that these projected figures explicitly exclude the financial benefit of incoming tariff refunds. On expects to receive up to $65 million in tariff refunds during the third quarter of 2026, an influx that is anticipated to provide an additional positive impact on the quarter’s reported gross profit.
Looking specifically at the third quarter of 2026, On stated that it expects to achieve a constant currency net sales growth rate of approximately 17 percent. This projection reflects the disciplined wholesale sell-in execution that management introduced during the review of the second-quarter results, combined with the continued robust sales momentum observed across the brand’s direct-to-consumer channels.
"Our outlook firmly establishes On as a high-quality earnings compounder," Sluis concluded. "The demand is premium and multi-dimensional, with strength demonstrated across all verticals, every geographic region, and every operating channel contributing to the bottom line."
