On Holdings Is Chasing Mass Appeal, and Trying Not to Trip Over It

The best way to kill a cult brand is to make it for everyone. After scaling to $3.8B in annual sales with elite performance credibility, OnONON

is now aiming squarely at “mass luxury.” To power its cultural expansion, the shoemaker added Zendaya, Burna Boy, and FKA twigs — though analysts warn against losing sight of what devoted followings really want.

• The allure of broad appeal unraveled bigger names before — NikeNKE
  is still trying to recover after deprioritizing performance, while AllbirdsBIRD
  fell from a $4B valuation to $39M.
• To keep its performance edge, On scaled its R&D team from 30 to 550+ people — producing LightSpray, a half-pound shoe that won the NYC Marathon.

Running ahead of trouble: As On navigates the performance vs. popularity tightrope, its two founders are retaking the wheel in May. Founder David Allemann frames the move as getting ahead of “pitfalls that are not here yet” and reinstilling the “entrepreneurial speed” that built the brand. As if balancing an identity crisis wasn’t enough, analysts expect the brand to also push into basketball and soccer. For now,ONON

is down 23.5% year-to-date, as making a great running shoe was just the warmup lap.