By Morten Suhr Hansen
Recently, I came across a brand-new category in the subscription world that I hadn’t encountered before: shoes on subscription. Or more specifically, running shoes. And not from a small, new player trying to break into a crowded market. The brand behind the running shoe subscription is Swiss-based On, which, since its launch in 2010, has positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing and most successful brands on the market. This year alone, On is expected to generate a turnover of 17 billion DKK, and its growth in recent years has surpassed that of most of its direct competitors.
An incredible running experience combined with sustainability
On was founded in 2010 by Swiss athletes Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann, and Caspar Coppetti. Their vision was to revolutionize running shoes by creating a product that focused not just on performance, but also on comfort. Inspired by their experience as professional athletes, they developed a unique technology called CloudTec®, which was designed to make runners feel as though they were literally running on clouds. This technology stood out from the traditional foam and air-based cushioning systems that had long dominated the market.
From the start, On quickly became popular among both professional athletes and casual runners. The running shoes offered a completely new running experience, which led to the brand rapidly gaining global recognition. Today, On products are sold in over 50 countries and have become synonymous with quality, innovation, and comfort. But it’s not just technology and design that have driven On’s success.
A significant part of their success is also due to their focus on sustainability and their subscription-based business model, which has captured the attention of many consumers.
How the Cyclon subscription program works
‘Cyclon. Yours, but not really…’ and ‘This is the gear you’ll never own. Because you subscribe to it. (Like music.)‘ These are some of the slogans behind one of the most innovative aspects of On’s business model: their subscription program called Cyclon.
Launched in 2022, the program allows customers to subscribe to their running shoes instead of buying them. In practice, this means that customers pay a fixed monthly fee to receive a pair of running shoes that they can use for as long as they like. When the shoes wear out, or if the customer wants to try a new pair, they return them to On, where they are recycled and turned into new shoes.
Subscribers can effectively swap their shoes every 90 days by ordering a ‘recycling’ directly from their online customer profile. A few days later, they receive new shoes, and they have 30 days to send the old ones back. Almost all materials from the old shoes are reused in the production of new shoes within the same program. The shoes are primarily made from castor oil extracted from beans, which allows for the production of high-performance shoes while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
And the prices? Is it expensive to subscribe in this way? All of On’s subscription shoes cost 250 DKK per month. A comparable pair of running shoes from On costs around 1,500 DKK, so it equates to changing your running shoes twice a year. However, you can do it more often, and you can effortlessly switch between different models each time.
Subscription and sustainability go hand in hand
There are several reasons why I believe On’s subscription initiative hits the mark right now.
Today’s consumers are becoming more accustomed to subscriptions. Services like Netflix and Spotify have trained us to think of experiences as something we rent or subscribe to rather than own. This shift in consumer behavior creates new opportunities for other industries, and On has been one of the first to capitalize on this trend in the (shoe) clothing industry.
On’s subscription program also taps into a sensitive issue in many consumers’ minds: overconsumption. We live in a time where many people are beginning to question the constant flow of new products and the waste it generates. By offering a subscription, On gives consumers the opportunity to enjoy new shoes when they need them, without worrying about owning too much or creating unnecessary waste.
Incidentally, Dutch company MUD Jeans has been running a similar model for their jeans for years, which are also circularly produced. Here, for 85 DKK per month, you can subscribe to jeans that are sent back after use to be recycled into new jeans.
I’m looking forward to soon receiving my first subscription shoes from On, but I’m even more excited to see more (big) players in the clothing industry take their responsibility seriously and develop new business models that benefit both their customers and the environment.
