When it comes to running shoe brands, many people first think of the world's four major jogging shoe brands ASICS, New Balance, Saucony, Brooks, or foreign brands such as Nike and Adidas, as well as domestic brands such as Xtep, Li Ning, Anta, 361°, and Hongxing Erke. It is worth noting that in recent years, there have been many niche running shoe brands that have quickly come out of the circle, and On is one of the best.
The brand is regarded as Lululemon in the running shoe segment, and it was launched in the United States in September 2021. In 2023, net sales will reach 1.792 billion Swiss francs (about 14.32 billion yuan), net profit will be 79.6 million Swiss francs, an increase of 46.6% and 37.9% year-on-year, respectively, and gross profit margin will increase by 3.6 percentage points year-on-year to 59.6%, making it one of the fastest-growing sporting goods companies.
By category, footwear sales increased by 46.6% year-on-year to CHF 1,711 million, accounting for more than 95%, while sales in apparel and accessories were CHF 68.9 million and CHF 11.8 million, up 45.5% and 60.7% respectively year-on-year.
David (left), Olivier (center), Casper (right)
According to public information, Ang Run was founded in January 2010, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, by the three-time world triathlon champion, Swiss star Olivier Bernhard (Olivier Bernhard) and two friends and running enthusiasts David Allemann (David Allemann), Caspar Coppetti (Caspar Coppetti) coppetti (Caspar Coppetti) together, hoping to create a sneaker that provides a "perfect running feeling".
Inspired by rubber hoses, they developed CloudTec technology, which focuses on cushioning comfort – the ability to stretch backwards on impact to cushion the wearer for a landing and convert the pressure on the ground into explosive force. The "hollow pod" design of the sole can greatly reduce the weight of the shoe and provide you with a light foot feel.
Relying on this core technology, Angpao has successively launched running shoes such as Cloudracer Racing Series, Cloudsurfer Performance Series, Cloudrunner Endurance Series, Cloudster Tengyun Series, and Cloud Lightweight Series, which have been recognized by many professional athletes such as Belgian triathlete Frederick van Reelde, 2012 London Olympic women's triathlon champion Nicola Spierig, and Chinese triathlete Fang Zhou.
Not only has it won many ISPO international awards as a professional running shoe, but it is also popular for its highly recognizable appearance. Three-time Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki, appeared on the cover of a fashion magazine in a run. Dwayne Johnson, the face of Under Armour, appeared in a high-end run at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Super Bowl.
Compared with professional running shoe brands such as ASICS, Ang Run prefers to design shoes in a style that can be worn in multiple scenarios. Liu Wen, He Sui, Yang Mi, Di Lieba, and Eason Chan have all worn their products, and the Qatari royal family and Bill Gates can be called the "wild spokespersons" of their families.
For example, the Magic Wall in New York is equipped with OnScan, a running data analysis device on the front that analyzes users' running posture and gives suitable shoe recommendations based on 50,000 runs data. The largest store in the U.S. in Portland, Oregon, spanning 3,400 square feet, adjacent to Nike's flagship store.
After ending his 24-year cooperation with Nike, in November 2019, Roger Federer, the "King of Tennis", officially joined Angao as a shareholder and spokesperson, and the following year launched the tennis sneaker designed by him - The Roger.
In the 14 years since its establishment, Angpao's products have expanded from professional running shoes to off-road, sports and leisure, tennis and other fields, with more than 9,000 distribution points in more than 60 countries and regions around the world, and 29 directly operated stores. [Note: In 2023, its wholesale channel sales will be CHF 1.12 billion, a year-on-year increase of 44.2%, and direct channel sales will be CHF 672 million, a year-on-year increase of 50.9%]
In 2018, Angrun entered the Chinese market and set up its China headquarters in Shanghai, and opened the world's first offline brand retail store the following year. In the future, it has successively opened stores in Beijing Sanlitun, Shanghai Ganghui Hang Lung Plaza, Guangzhou Taikoo Hui, Shenzhen MixC and Chengdu Taikoo Li. Establish its own user community, On Run Club, and regularly organize sports activities such as Friday runs and Christmas Eve parties in offline stores, which is the same as Lulu Lemon.
Up to now, Angrun has a total of 102 sales points in China, distributed in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Hangzhou. Among them, there are 22 directly-operated stores, and 10 new stores have been opened in the past year, and the intention to accelerate the layout of the Chinese market is clear. As a result, sales in the Asia-Pacific region, including Greater China, reached CHF 141.1 million in 2023, a significant increase of 75.9% year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing regional market at present.
The vertical products and operations have directly promoted the growth of Angpao in the Chinese market, with some users listing it as a "new middle-class three-piece set" along with lululemon and Arc'teryx, and some even jokingly called it "a pair of feet in Shanghai's Jing'an District". Although there is a hint of banter in these remarks, they also reflect the brand's popularity to a certain extent.
Angpao naturally makes an all-out bet and plans to increase the proportion of sales in the Chinese market to 10%, with an annual sales growth rate of 20%-50% after 2026. Of course, this is not an easy task, and it remains to be seen whether Ang Run can continue to maintain high growth in the face of a large number of foreign brands and fast-rising Chinese brands.