The “Zendaya effect” is in full swing for shoe brand On.
June 2024 the Zurich, Switzerland-based company announced it was collaborating with Zendaya Coleman and was signing the actress to a multi-year deal for her to become its brand partner, per WWD. Under their agreement she would be expected to help the company “drive meaningful conversations around movement and well-being, reimagine select product collections and produce future creative campaigns.” As part of the announcement, On launched its campaign “Dream Together” with Zendaya as the star of a short film.
“We’ve been massive admirers of Zendaya’s ability to inspire a generation and dream big,” Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman David Allemann said, per WWD. “We can’t think of a better partner to help us grow, evolve and connect with people around the world than Zendaya. This film is the beginning of more stories to come and we are eager to bring in new and distinctive voices alongside Zendaya to continue our mission to dream together.”
Zendaya commented:
“It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of On for a long time. I’m always wearing them on set, or when I’m traveling, rehearsing or running around with my dog. So it’s a full-circle moment to make this partnership official.”
Zendaya has helped bring greater visibility to the company’s product lineups included its Cloudtilt shoe. While in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, she also stopped by the company’s lab to experience LightSpray. On describes it as a “revolutionary technology” and uses robotics to create a running shoe in three minutes.
“This unique process cuts a decades-old, multi-part process into a three-minute, minimal-waste step,” a statement on the company website reads. “This creates the lightest elite-level shoe we’ve ever made. Cutting CO₂ emissions by 75% compared to our other racing shoes.”
Zendaya has proven to be a great asset to the On team. In fact, it has also led to a boost in the company’s market performance. A press release mentions the company’s total net sales in Q2 2024 grew by “27.8% year-over-year and of 29.4% on a constant currency basis.” The exact earnings were marked at “CHF 567.7 million (Swiss franc).” Additionally, the company reported a 73.7% increase in the Asia-Pacific market and a 63.0% rise in apparel.
On also stated “its second quarter 2024 gross profit margin reaches 59.9%, up from 59.5% in the prior year period.”
“We are coming out of the summer with a lot of confidence and are extremely excited about On’s trajectory,” Allemann said in the news release. “Over the past months, we have launched important long-term initiatives such as our multi-year partnership with Zendaya, groundbreaking innovations like the LightSpray™ technology and the opening of our Paris store, our largest own retail location yet. These significant milestones are an outcome of our mantra – Dream On – a commitment to pursue the most daring dreams to achieve long-term, innovation-led success, and we are thrilled to build on these milestones during the years ahead.”
On Co-CEO and Chief Financial Officer Martin Hoffmann commented:
“The past weeks and months have been filled with exciting brand moments for On and it is clear that we have laid the groundwork for what we believe will shape On for many years to come. These moments are only possible thanks to the dedication and passion of the entire On team. The wave of recent positive feedback and coverage fuels our ambition to continue to innovate and deliver exceptional products and experiences to our fans worldwide. We are very pleased to see the ongoing strong momentum of the On brand across channels, regions and products, as evidenced in our very strong results in the first half of 2024.“
