Olympics-Athletics-Running brand On launches spray-on marathon shoe in bid for Paris spotlight

On Holding AG

25/07/2024 14:37

By Helen Reid
       PARIS, July 25 (Reuters) - Running brand On made its
latest move in the supershoe race on the eve of the Paris
Olympics, unveiling a marathon shoe produced by a robotic arm
spraying material onto a mold to create a sock-like upper, with
no laces.
    On, a Swiss brand founded in 2010 and listed in New York in
2021, has been trying to muscle its way into the high-tech
running shoe contest traditionally fought by market leaders Nike
and Adidas.
    The "LightSpray" production method used in Zurich, with
fewer parts required per pair, challenges the usual footwear
manufacturing model which relies on shipping finished shoes from
factories in South-East Asia to shoppers in the U.S. and Europe.
    "In terms of scaling it, it's pretty simple, we just need
more robots," On co-founder Caspar Coppetti told Reuters in an
interview in Paris, where the brand demonstrated the robot -
supplied by Swiss engineering firm ABB - making a shoe. 
    "We can move to full automation, or semi automation at
least, and where it's produced is no longer as important." 
    The launch comes as supply chain disruptions, geopolitical
risks and government incentives are driving interest in
"nearshoring" manufacturing, or bringing it closer to the end
customer.
    The midsole, foam and plate of the LightSpray shoe are
currently produced in Asia, but On aims to manufacture those
elements in Switzerland too eventually, executives said. 
    
    "FRICTIONLESS"
    While most running shoe innovations focus on the midsole,
like the now ubiquitous carbon plate first used by Nike in 2016,
On argued the LightSpray shoe's thin, seamless, one-piece upper
makes it light and aerodynamic. 
    "It's a frictionless system, basically, that will hopefully
result in performance benefits," Coppetti said. 
    Built to be lightweight and bouncy for runners to maintain a
fast pace over 42 km, marathon shoes have become big business
for sportswear brands, especially with more amateurs around the
world getting into endurance running.
    At $330, On's shoe is at the upper end of the market, though
a less eye-watering price tag than Adidas' $500 model launched
last September. On's Cloudboom Strike LS weighs in at 170 grams
for the men's model, against 138 grams for Adidas' Adizero Adios
Pro Evo 1.
    On is spending more on marketing around the Olympics than
any other event this year. The official sponsor of the
Switzerland Olympic team, it also sponsors Olympic athletes
including Kenya's marathon runner Hellen Obiri, Poland's tennis
Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, and Norwegian triathlete and
defending gold medallist Kristian Blummenfelt.
    Of 66 sponsored athletes at the Olympics, between six and 10
will wear customised versions of the LightSpray shoes, which
also come in a sprint spike model.
    Obiri, who left Nike to sign with On in January 2022, wore a
prototype version of the LightSpray shoe when she won her second
Boston Marathon in April. 
    Not having to worry about laces coming undone during the
race was a perk of the shoe, she told Reuters in an interview. 
    "When you wear it, you don't have any doubts," she said.

 (Reporting by Helen Reid in Paris, Editing by Ken Ferris)
 ((Helen.Reid@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7584 155 200 ;))