Namaste fam,
Today I have come up with an interesting Brand story. Is it a shoe, or a Swiss engineering marvel?👟In another fun- filled learning class of Global Marketing by Prof Malika M mam at IIM Bangalore, we looked into how On shoes disrupted the market. On didn’t just enter the race...they redefined the track!!! Here’s why they are winning the brand game:
1. The Tech: From Garden Hoses to "CloudTec" ☁️
The origin story is pure "scrappy innovation." Founder Olivier Bernhard glued garden hoses to a sole to solve Achilles pain. Today, CloudTec pods provide a dual-benefit: soft, adaptive landings with a firm, "locked" take-off.
2. The Differentiator: Visual DNA 🧬
On turned their tech into their logo. Those hollow pods are recognizable from a block away. It’s minimalist, "Swiss Alps chic," looks so stylish that even I want to buy it now...(I'm not an athlete 😂) because, duh! it's so damn stylish 🤌
3. The Take-Off: The Federer x Scarcity Play 🎾
They didn't chase mass retail immediately. By focusing on specialty stores and bringing Roger Federer on as an investor, they built a "prestige" halo. They didn't just sell shoes; they sold an association with excellence.
4. Premium Branding: The "No-Discount" Rule 💎
While others fight price wars, On maintains its premium status through strict price discipline and high-fashion collabs with houses like Loewe. That's where some other show brands faltered as well.
5. The "Netflix" of Shoes: Cyclon™ Subscription 🔄
A friend of mine who had been to Japan for her BPIM told me that, On has pioneered a circular subscription model. For a monthly fee (approx. ¥3,380), you never actually "own" the shoe. Instead, every 6 months (or as soon as they wear out), you ship your old pair back to be 100% recycled into new ones, and they send you a fresh, high-performance pair. It’s a closed-loop system that eliminates waste while ensuring you’re always running on fresh tech. It can't get cooler than this... environmentally too😂
On proves that if you have a "weird" enough innovation and the discipline to stay premium, you can disrupt even the most crowded industries.
Are you seeing more "Clouds" in your office than at the gym lately? Let's discuss why this brand shift is happening. ðŸ’
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