Roger Federer-backed sneaker company On looks to raise $622 million in IPO
The Roger Federer-backed sneaker company, On, is sprinting to the public markets with an IPO that could raise as much as $622 million, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Zurich-based On is one of the fastest-growing sneaker brands in the world. It opened its first-ever store in Manhattan in December.
Federer became an investor in the 11-year-old company in 2019, which helped to fuel its meteoric rise.
A $200 shoe named Roger will likely be accompanied by a “tennis sneaker family,” the filing said.
“We believe Roger’s perspectives and insights as a professional athlete will help improve our product development, marketing and fan experiences,” the filing said.
The brand that bills itself as environmentally friendly recently introduced a line of recyclable shoes that are available by subscription only — and it has plans to introduce apparel and other accessories, according to the filing.
On will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ONON with an initial public offering price between $18 and $20 per share, which would value the company at up to $5.5 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.
While tiny compared to Nike, Adidas, Puma and other established brands, On’s sales “more than tripled” in the first half of 2021 compared to the same time last year, NPD Group sports analyst Matt Powell said.
In the company’s prospectus statement for would-be IPO investors, it underlined its lightening-fast rise – saying net sales had achieved a compound annual growth rate of 85 percent from the company’s founding in 2010 through 2020. Last year, the company had sales of around $463 million, according to the filing.
For perspective, the global athletic footwear market is expected to worth more than $100 billion this year. Nike had global athletic shoe sales of $28 billion in 2020.
Since the Manhattan store opened at 363 Lafayette St., On has opened several stores in malls in Shanghai and Chengdu China. Its shoes are currently sold in specialty stores, including REI and JackRabbit as well as high-end department store Nordstrom.
“We felt that starting out in New York City was important because it is one of our largest running communities,” cofounder David Allemann told The Post last year.
