This story is part of Glossy’s series breaking down the big conversations at Shoptalk.
After working her way up the ranks, Britt Olsen will transition into her new role of chief commercial officer at sportswear company On, on April 1. Currently, Olsen is the company’s gm of Americas. She’s been an On employee for more than nine years.
In this new role, Olsen plans to roll out a few big initiatives that will build on the company’s current momentum, she told Glossy.
“We’ll be hiring merchandising teams, which are quite new to the organization, and go-to-market leaders, which are [also] a bit new. Everyone’s been very entrepreneurial and making it all happen, but now, for the size and complexity of the business, we will be building some new teams,” she said. “We also need more expertise on retail and apparel, so we’ll need to bring in talent that understands how to build those businesses.”
Expanding On’s retail footprint is another one of the company’s big goals this year. Currently, On has 33 stores globally, and it plans to add 15 to 20 new stores by the end of the year.
“We’re becoming a sportswear brand head to toe, and our own retail channels help us tell that story,” she said. “We see a much higher share of apparel sales in our own retail doors than we do in any other channel.”
The Americas market makes up two-thirds of the company’s business. However, as On increases its retail locations, it will slowly shift its focus one global retail expansion, with a focus on the Chinese market, she said. “We’ve had stores in China for quite a while because that’s the way to win in that market. … China is not typically a multi-brand wholesale environment, so if you want to be successful, you have to have your own store,” she said.
In addition, On will prioritize category expansion this year. In the last month, the company officially launched into the training category. That strategy is about “transferring performance products from running into use cases for folks in the gym who choose to move that way,” she said.
On’s fourth-quarter and 2023 full-year earnings, released March 12, showed that the company generated CHF 447.1 million ($498 million) in revenue in the fourth quarter, up 21.9% year-over-year. For the year, the company reported CHF 1.79 billion ($1.99 billion) in net sales, up 46.6% compared to 2022. On credited its growth to its proven multi-channel strategy, in addition to the On brand driving record-high traffic to On’s website and retail stores around the globe.
Following her Shoptalk panel this week, Olsen sat down with Glossy to discuss how On is expanding to new markets, what it has in store for the Paris Olympics and how it’s evolving its commerce business.
DTC vs. wholesale
“In the very early days, we were intentional [about our distribution strategy]. We didn’t want to be a DTC-only brand or a wholesale-only brand. At the time — On launched 14 years ago — there were a lot of DTC darling brands that were all over the media and all eyes were on them. That worked for some industries. But we knew that, as a small fish in a very big pond with limited resources, one of the best ways we could connect with consumers as quickly as possible — that could also validate a high-tech, high-performance product — was through wholesale. It was always our strategy to open up at the best wholesale and specialty partners and get connected to communities. At the same time, we were always building our DTC presence and engine. Now, … we’re fueling growth more in DTC because our brand [has changed]. We’ve expanded into new categories, and it’s really hard for a single wholesale partner to be able to tell the full story head to toe. We can really only achieve that in our digital environment on e-comm or in our own retail stores.
I also want to be clear that we’re not closing wholesale partners. I know some brands have taken that approach, but it’s not in our strategy. It’s more so that we’re not interested in door expansions or account expansion. [Right now], we’re focusing on how to make the doors that we are in the most successful with the highest sell-through and the biggest connection to consumers, while fueling DTC growth.”
The Olympics opportunity
“The Olympics is a huge brand play for us this year, so we’re all eyes there. We’ve got some exciting partnerships that are happening this year, which I can’t speak about but will be made public very soon. We have one of the most sought-after track clubs in America, and we’ve since expanded that club to Oceania, Europe and Asia — it’s incredible. I don’t know the exact number, but I think we’ll have almost 30 track and field athletes in the Olympics. The talent that we’ve been able to bring in has been unbelievable in the last couple years because they just love the product so much. They love On and the team and the culture, and they’re really driving the innovation behind our performance. Paris is finally our year to make a big, big big statement.”
Expansion to membership programs and an app
“We’re making a big investment right now into membership and loyalty programs, which we’ve never had before. Our loyalty program just launched this year. We [also] have an app now, which has launched only in a couple of markets as a test, and it’s been really successful. We’re putting a lot of investment behind an app experience and what that shopper journey looks like. It’s very much tied to membership, which will be really important for us to hit our goals in the future.
With the loyalty program, [we’re thinking about] maps, run clubs, events and exclusive products. There will be a lot of things that drive [home] why the value is [what it is] and why you would want to become a member.”
