One spring morning in April, On quietly opened the doors to its first store in Boston.
The timing was significant for the Swiss running brand, with the city’s most prominent marathon just days away. In fact, Dan Schade, general manager of the Americas at On, called the opening an “incredibly meaningful milestone” for the company, citing Boston’s “deep-rooted passion for running and dedication to performance.”
“It was cool to be able to bring that store to life at the perfect moment for our consumers, and especially in a market like Boston, where running plays such a central role,” Schade told FN in an exclusive interview.
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On’s Boston store was just the latest addition to the company’s global retail portfolio, which now includes 15 stores in the U.S. and 70 stores worldwide. Other recent openings so far this year include locations in Seoul, Madrid, London and Shenzhen.
And On’s not done. “We’re going to expand the retail channel throughout the rest of the year and open up new locations,” the executive revealed. “It’s something that’ll continue to drive growth for us in the Americas but also play a really important positioning role. We’re calling it a ‘premium growth era,’ which is going to be reflective of our deliberate and intentional strategy that elevates the brand and positions us in the premium market.”
Schade noted that future openings slated for this year include stores in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Sydney, Stockholm, Munich, Copenhagen and São Paulo. The company plans to increase its store base to approximately 100 by the end of 2026.
As On continues to pursue this premium growth era outside of just its retail stores, the brand’s long-running partnership with Spanish luxury brand Loewe comes into focus. The duo’s most recent drop, which released last week, included an update on the Swiss brand’s LightSpray upper technology, a precision-engineered manufacturing process that sprays a seamless filament upper in a single step, crafted in approximately three minutes, along with takes on the Cloudsolo and Cloudtilt Hi sneakers.
“Our collections with Loewe are always extremely commercially successful,” Schade said. “This collab is a really great way of giving the brand a premium positioning while also communicating to a new consumer what ultimately differentiates us, which is our innovation. And being very close to this kind of ‘luxury ceiling’ with Loewe, and experimenting in that world, is a great anchoring mechanism for the rest of the brand.”
The executive added that On’s direct-to-consumer channel is a key driver of this “premium positioning” as well as profitability. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, direct-to-consumer net sales grew 28.7 percent at constant currency to 322.3 million Swiss francs, accounting for 38.7 percent of total sales.
Looking at the entire region’s numbers, On’s Americas business posted net sales of 450.7 million Swiss francs in Q1 2026, a new quarterly record. This is up 17.1 percent from 437.4 million Swiss francs the same time last year on a constant currency basis.
These results follow the Americas region’s fiscal 2025 yearly net sales of 1.7 billion Swiss francs, up 23.4 percent on a constant currency basis from 1.5 billion Swiss francs in fiscal 2024.
And as On continues on its growth path, the brand’s foundation in running remains the throughline. In fact, On is doubling down on running this month with the launch of the On Athletics Club (OAC) Sprint team.
Strategically based in the greater Los Angeles area, which just so happens to be hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 2028, the OAC Sprint team will be led by the highly respected coach John Bolton (also known as “JB”), supported by sport scientist and strength and conditioning coach Harrison Smith.
As for the team’s roster, it includes Ghanaian Olympian and two-time African Games medalist Benjamin Azamati; reigning NCAA 100m champion Samirah Moody and the 100m runner-up, Max Thomas, who both bring sub-11 and sub-10 second speed, respectively. The team’s range is further showcased by six-time NCAA All-American Johnny Brackins, an elite talent in the 110m and 400m hurdles.
“Running is our DNA and is the core of who we are,” Schade added. “So, with this new sprint team, we want to think about the sport of track and field a lot more broadly and holistically. This is especially important as we get into big events in 2028, where we want to create this team atmosphere.”
As for more details on what to expect from On as the 2028 Olympics approach, we’ll have to wait just a bit longer to find out. But, in the meantime, Schade said to expect to see what the company does best. “We’re really excited for that moment,” he said while referring to the Olympics. “We’ll be bringing forward not only innovation, but also athletes that shine in our innovations into the spotlight. So, it’s going to be a really fun moment.”