class = “sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>
Things are not going well at Swiss sneaker maker On. The research by the consumer protection magazine “K-Tipp” is making headlines in Switzerland. The reason: According to the accusation, the brand, in which Roger Federer has a significant stake, achieves much higher margins than its international rivals and pays the lowest wages to its Vietnamese producers.
Now a Swiss sneaker expert also expresses his fundamental criticisms of the brand. Guillaume Morand (60), nicknamed “Toto”, founded one of the first stores specializing in sports shoes in Switzerland in the late 80s. Today Pomp It Up has seven branches throughout Switzerland, for example in Basel, Zurich and Lausanne.
Blick: You wrote on Facebook that On’s shoes were “very expensive, poor quality and ugly.” Can you explain this?
Toto Morand: The shoes were originally designed as running shoes. The first target group as a sales channel was specialist stores such as sports retailers. Success in the lifestyle industry also surprised the founders. Ten shoes quickly became such a mass product in Switzerland that they no longer appealed to us. At Pomp It Up, we specialize in trendy, slightly special shoes. And yes: we have ideas about Tens…
Which?
Personally, I don’t find them beautiful. And the prices were always excessive for me. The price of a pair is over 200 francs. All experts in the industry ask how it is possible to spend so much money on bad shoes with so little technology. But success is great.
How will it be explained?
Those who make their own lifestyle shoes are mostly people over the age of 40. Sneaker brands often target younger customers. Ten is the cult shoe of those aged between 50 and 90 who have some money. The success was enormous, especially among wealthy people in Zurich. This is not our target group.
Will margin exposure affect sales?
We’ll see. I would never wear a pair. None of my colleagues and employees share the same opinion. However, many people think that they are stylish when they wear On…
What do you think Ten needs to do to be successful in the long run?
The brand has positioned itself as very high-quality in Switzerland. They tried to make shoes a luxury product. They are much cheaper in Germany or the USA. An example: The “Roger” model is definitely bad. There is no justification for it costing 220 francs. It was supposed to sell for 140 francs. Puma and Adidas follow this policy and receive very few returns of defective shoes. Ten must have a lot going on. I don’t have any figures on this subject. I’m not selling them.
But the brand is still successful internationally!
They owe their current success to the USA, where On has become a fashion item. There are only a few players in the sneaker business. The hardest thing is to survive. I’m no psychic, but we’ll see if Ten is here to stay. Roger Federer appeals more to the older target audience. It is difficult to gain a foothold among young people with a very old customer base. There is no demand for On in our stores anyway.
You have problems too. They complain that it is becoming increasingly difficult for small retailers like Pomp It Up to survive in the sneaker market. How come?
The environment has become very difficult since the coronavirus. My shop is a survivor that could disappear. This year is very important. Nike has stopped supplying products to us since June 2022. They close down their outlets to promote online sales and multinational companies like Footlocker or Snipes. We need to compensate for this with other brands.
IT So is there still hope?
Hope lies in the once again popular Adidas sneakers. Otherwise I would have had to close the stores a long time ago. New Balance, Asics and Salomon are also selling well among trendsetters. But the situation is the same everywhere in retail: Large European companies are buying Swiss brands, including in the clothing and furniture sectors.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
