(Reuters) -On Holding reported fourth-quarter sales and profit above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday as its brand awareness initiatives helped drive strong holiday demand for its shoes and sportswear offerings.
Its shares rose about 4% in premarket trading.
The Roger Federer-backed Swiss company has been gaining market share rapidly, challenging bigger rivals Adidas and Nike through its extensive product innovation and marketing focus on younger consumers.
On, which has benefited from the trend towards comfort-oriented offerings, has been expanding its shelf and online spaces at retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker.
It has bet on direct-to-consumer sales through its own retail stores, both offline and online, with direct sales being 48.8% of net sales in the fourth quarter, helping the company achieve higher full-priced sales, allowing it to invest more in promotional efforts.
On has been keen to amp up brand awareness through its partnerships, including with actress Zendaya, musician FKA Twigs and athlete Hellen Obiri, along with its marketing campaigns at events such as the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The company also debuted its presence at the Super Bowl earlier in February, with an ad campaign featuring Federer and Sesame Street’s Elmo.
Its fourth-quarter sales rose 35.7% to CHF 606.6 million ($680.73 million), compared with estimates of CHF 593.9 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On reported an adjusted profit of CHF 0.33 per share, compared with the CHF 0.17 estimated by analysts.
On expects full-year 2025 net sales of at least CHF 2.94 billion, compared to analysts’ average estimate of CHF 2.97 billion.
($1 = 0.8911 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
