On reveals its strategic plan for Spain

Madrid – On Running, or simply On for true sports enthusiasts, celebrated the final of its ‘On Squad Race’ initiative in Barcelona this past weekend, featuring teams from France, Italy and Spain. The relay competition has been promoted globally by the brand. FashionUnited had the privilege of participating first-hand, an experience that provided the perfect backdrop to uncover the Swiss sportswear brand's strategy for Spain.

In just over 15 years, On has established itself as a benchmark brand in the sports world. This is a significant milestone for a company that has managed to compete head-to-head with historic giants like Nike and Adidas, whose origins date back over 60 and 75 years, respectively. On is undoubtedly one of the sportswear brands of the moment. From this position, the company is working hard to strike a difficult balance. It aims to continue growing as a premium brand while focusing on further consolidating its identity and, crucially, avoiding becoming a victim of its own success.

The story of falling into irrelevance is a familiar one in the fashion world. On is trying to shield itself from this fate by executing a meticulous and well-studied strategy. This strategy is applied both globally and is aligned with the respective roadmaps designed for each of its key markets, including Spain. This past weekend, Spain hosted the final of the 'On Squad Race' relay between France, Italy and Spain. This international initiative, driven by On, serves as a perfect example of one of the main pillars of its strategic plan and business model: community connection. This key factor currently acts as a unifying constant for all of On's operations and strategies. On this basis, the company outlines and executes its various 'country initiatives'. For On's roadmap in Spain, the Swiss sportswear brand is focusing its attention on the country's two largest cities: Madrid and Barcelona.

More community

As a core element of its business model, we begin our breakdown of On's strategic plan for Spain with its 'connection with the community'. This factor is "multidimensional" in both form and substance, as evidenced by the 'On Squad Race' relay competition. The initiative allows On to go beyond organising the usual running clubs promoted by sports brands in major cities. It offers a different experience to the same community of people interested in sports and running.

To clarify exactly how On is building and assembling a "community" through activations like this, we will use the first-hand experience from this past Friday, May 29, in Barcelona, during the 'On Squad Race' final between France, Italy and Spain. The competition features teams of four runners representing their broader running communities. The Barcelona final was held after preliminary qualifying rounds in each of these countries. The French team Jolie Foulée won, with the Spanish teams No Breaks Squad and Apalarun finishing second and third, respectively. With this result, the French team's runners emerged as the winners of the race, earning a spot in the grand final of this global initiative, which will be held in Los Angeles.

Through the 'On Squad Race', the brand has created a dynamic of healthy competition around a relay race. This allows On to connect with its target audience of sports and running enthusiasts, offering them a unique experience. It also helps establish connections and relationships that extend beyond the product and any commercial transaction. At the same time, On strengthens ties with its commercial partners and local running communities. Through them, it organises the events for the various races and finals taking place worldwide as part of this initiative, from Beijing to Los Angeles; Medellín; Tokyo; Rio de Janeiro; Sydney; Lima; Buenos Aires; Mexico City; and now, Barcelona.

“‘On Squad Race’ is a global series of activations centred around the running community, with a strong focus on community,” emphasises Antonio Melero, marketing director for Southern EMEA at On, during a conversation with FashionUnited just minutes after the Barcelona final concluded at the incomparable setting of Montjuïc castle. “The reality of running communities and ‘Community Cruises’ is that they are emerging very actively within the sports world, especially in major global cities, and brands obviously want to join this trend.” In On's case, we launched the 'On Squad Race' relay competition primarily because “we found it interesting to promote an activation that would bring community members together without necessarily establishing active, direct collaborations with them, and for them to unite simply for the sake of the activity.”

“The whole ‘Community Cruise’ concept, which also has a significant social component, is a fantastic phenomenon that is bringing young people closer to running,” adds Melero. “As a premium brand, we wanted to offer them something that truly fits their community positioning, so they could first enjoy the experience and then also use it as a vehicle to generate visibility.” From an internal perspective, the competition also allows On to “tap into the current fertile ground of ‘Run Cruises’ and the running community at a local level, especially in key cities, to fuel the running industry and rejuvenate it.” At a brand level, On was “interested in reaching a younger consumer and, as a premium brand, providing them with an experience very different from a typical race on an athletics track.” These two factors emerge as the main drivers that will clearly shape the Swiss brand's strategies in its commitment to building more community, both globally and in Spain.

Focus as a premium brand

Focusing on the specific keys of On's "country plan" for Spain, the first thing to highlight is its premium brand approach towards the consumer. On carefully maintains this through all its initiatives and executions as a sports brand, whether through activations like the 'On Squad Race' relay or its commercial activities. The brand admits this was a challenge, facing a price-driven market like Spain. However, they report a very successful performance despite maintaining a no-discount pricing policy and tight control over the brand's exposure in the multi-brand channel.

“In terms of positioning, we will never deviate one millimetre from being a premium brand, which means we operate in a more niche part of the consumer pyramid,” Melero points out. “In a market like Spain, which is very price-driven, knowing how to work it well means making certain decisions that, in most cases, involve giving up a large part of the distribution the market offers. We will not deviate from that,” he warns. This strategy, despite the risks, is clearly proving very positive for the brand. “Even playing the no-discount game and implementing other policies to guarantee this positioning, the market is responding very well. It was one of the big unknowns when you enter a very price-driven market as a premium brand, and you don't know how it will react. Fortunately, Spain is reacting very positively to our commercial strategy.”

New openings in Madrid and Barcelona

On has had its own store in Spain since November 2025, when its first store in the country opened at 17 Calle de Serrano in Madrid. This opening, in the heart of the Salamanca district, the capital's "golden mile," perfectly exemplifies the premium positioning strategy Melero detailed. On's marketing director for Southern EMEA also revealed the next steps the brand plans to take in Spain. Madrid and now Barcelona will be the locations from which it will seek to strengthen its operations in the country.

First flagship store on Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona

Starting with Barcelona, the choice of the city to host the 'On Squad Race' final between France, Italy and Spain is the "icing on the cake" for the brand's investments in the city in recent years. These investments include On's sponsorship of the last two editions of the Barcelona Marathon. The brand's growing presence in the city's sports scene complements the activities carried out from its head office in Barcelona. However, this contrasts with the lack of an On store in the city. The absence of a store is not for lack of trying, but due to the difficulty in finding a retail space that meets all of On's requirements for establishing a presence in Barcelona. On has confirmed to FashionUnited its plans to open its own store in the city. This store is set to be the brand's first flagship in the country, and they are currently waiting to find the ideal retail location for its opening. On emphasises that the location will definitely be on Barcelona's Paseo de Gracia.

As one of the "key cities" identified by On, a label also applied to strategic locations like Milan, Paris, London and Berlin, “in Barcelona, there has been an organic investment over the last three years that is generating very good results and performance. While it's true we don't have our own store yet, it's purely a logistical issue of not having found the location we want,” Melero explains. For the location, “our goal is Paseo de Gracia.” “Until we find the right place, we won't make the move, but the decision has been made,” as has the decision that Barcelona will be a “flagship location.”

Second store in Madrid

The store concept for Barcelona will therefore be different from the smaller "chapter store" model with which On entered Spain and Madrid, with the opening of its first store on Serrano last November. On is already considering reinforcing the operations of this establishment with a second, similar "experiential" store, which would be different from the "flagship store" model planned for Barcelona. This difference is due to On's outstanding performance in Barcelona, which is similar to that in Madrid, but achieved without even having its own point-of-sale to support it.

“We opened in Madrid with the ‘chapter’ concept, which is a more limited format, and with just that one store, things are going as well as in Barcelona, where we haven't invested yet.” From there, “we are already considering a second store in Madrid,” Melero reveals. This opening will align with On's strategic objectives for Spain, just as the first store in Madrid did. For that city, “it was very clear that Serrano had to be one of the main objectives” for the brand, “and it was.” “In Madrid, luckily, things came together very quickly and smoothly, but we still haven't reached the point of investing in Madrid as a city,” in the same way it is already being done in Barcelona. The city, compared to Madrid, “has evolved much more quickly” because “the brand structure is here,” and also because “we decided to bet” on making a series of investments that “have helped us a lot to create a footprint in the local community and with the local customer.” This influence has been capped off “after the investment of recent years with an event” like the 'On Squad Race' final. It will be crowned by the long-awaited On store on Paseo de Gracia.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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