If On Shoes Are for Everyone, Are They Still Ons?

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Supported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTIf On Shoes Are for Everyone, Are They Still Ons?The company finds itself at a critical juncture that others have botched: How does it stay a brand for serious athletes while keeping up its breakneck growth?Listen · 10:02 min Share full articleOn’s LIghtSpray Cloudboom Strike running shoe — on display, museum-style, at the company’s Zurich headquarters — was made with a technology that mists the upper part of the shoe onto the sole. Credit...Clara Watt for The New York TimesBy Jordyn HolmanJordyn Holman interviewed the On shoe brand’s executives at their Zurich headquarters.April 25, 2026 window.registerInteractive && window.registerInteractive("100000010805361"); !function(){var e="gps_module_impressions",s="gps_suppress_module",t=new URLSearchParams(window.location.search),o="1"===t.get("gps_debug")?function(e,s){console.log("[gps]",e,void 0!==s?s:"")}:function(){};if(o("version",16),(document.documentElement.lang||"").toLowerCase().startsWith("es")&&(document.body.classList.add("gps-lang-es"),o("language: spanish")),"1"===t.get("gps_reset"))try{localStorage.removeItem(e),localStorage.removeItem(s),o("localStorage reset")}catch(e){}if(document.querySelector(".NYTApp"))o("hidden: NYTApp context");else{var a=!1;try{a=!!localStorage.getItem(s)}catch(e){}if(a)o("hidden: suppressed via "+s);else{var r=0;try{r=parseInt(localStorage.getItem(e),10)||0}catch(e){}o("impressions so far",r);try{r+=1,localStorage.setItem(e,String(r)),o("impression recorded",r)}catch(e){}document.body.classList.add("gps-show"),o("module shown")}}}().gps-module{display:none;background-color:var(--tpl-color-background-secondary,#f8f8f8);font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,serif;text-align:center;padding:1rem 16px 16px 16px;max-width:600px;margin:1.25rem 20px;text-wrap:balance}.gps-show .gps-module{display:block}@media (min-width:640px){.gps-module{margin:1.25rem auto;box-sizing:border-box}}.gps-link{text-decoration:none;color:inherit;display:block}.gps-body{display:block;margin:0;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:.9375rem;line-height:1.4;font-weight:500;color:var(--tpl-color-content-primary,#121212)}.gps-cta{display:inline-block;margin-top:6px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:.8125rem;font-weight:700;line-height:130%;border:1px solid var(--tpl-color-stroke-tertiary,#dfdfdf);background-color:var(--tpl-color-background-primary,#fff);color:var(--tpl-color-content-primary,#121212);padding:.375rem 1.125rem;border-radius:2rem}.gps-caret-sep{display:inline-block;width:.25rem}.gps-link:hover .gps-cta{border:1px solid var(--tpl-color-stroke-tertiary,#dfdfdf);background:var(--tpl-color-background-tertiary,#ebebeb)}.NYTApp .gps-module{display:none}.gps-es{display:none}.gps-lang-es .gps-module .gps-es{display:inline}.gps-lang-es .gps-module .gps-en{display:none}See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google !function(){if(document.body.classList.contains("gps-show")){var e="1"===new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get("gps_debug")?function(e,t){console.log("[gps]",e,void…

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