WEBVTT - Chief Future Officer, S3 EP5: Martin Hoffmann, On 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:05.520 The shape of the on Athletic shoe is unique. It 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:09.520 can't be mistaken for any other brand. This is a cloud. 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:14.160 It's the key to unlocking your running potential and. 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:16.560 If you look at it, it truly stands out. 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:20.360 The structure of on C suite is just as distinctive. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.560 Starting at the top with a pair of CEOs. 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.439 Well, we realized very early on is if you're adding 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:32.199 different capabilities to each other and you do that as equals, 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.960 then this leads to better outcomes. 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:38.960 Mark Maurer joined on as Chief operating Officer in March 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:43.839 twenty thirteen. Martin Hoffman arrived as CFO that July. In 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:47.520 twenty twenty one, they jointly assumed the CEO role. 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:51.680 We are a friend that needs to be excellent in 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:55.720 designing product, in innovating product, but also in shipping millions 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.600 of parcels from A to B in the most efficient way. 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:02.280 So we need to have very different mindsets and very 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:07.080 diverse people. Marcus different strengths. I have different strengths, and 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:08.520 if you take us together, you. 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:09.319 Just get more. 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:12.720 Have you had have there been areas of the business 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.600 where you've had disagreements as co CEOs? Have you always 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.000 been of one mind or have you wanted to take 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:19.200 things in different directions? 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:22.440 Yeah, I mean absolutely. I think it's that's the strength 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.480 that we're basically able to problem solve and also disagree 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.360 on topics. I think what we have with each other 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:29.679 is just a lot of trust. 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:33.319 Sometimes we really argue in a meeting with a lot 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.400 of other people present, so they actually see it's part 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.720 of our culture. We're also spending a lot of time 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:42.360 outside of work together and that that really helps to 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:47.200 purely talk about the things that that matters. And in 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:48.920 the end, we both want to do the same right. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.480 We want to build a company for the future, and 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.560 so that goal is what unites us. 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:01.600 Companies with co CEOs are rare, but configuration is even 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:06.640 more unusual. Martin Hoffman also holds the CFO position. He 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:08.840 says his two jobs complement each other. 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.120 I actually feel the CFO makes you a better CEO, 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.960 and the CEO makes you a better CFO. Understanding what 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.360 you build as a CEO helps you to understand your numbers, 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.480 and understanding the numbers helps you what are the right 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:23.440 things to build. 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.440 On's emphasis on mind share, as much as market share, 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:31.880 has driven a decade of explosive growth. Hoffman has On's 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:35.160 finances in focus, but he also sees himself as the 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:36.480 steward of a story. 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:38.400 In the end, there is. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:43.960 A strong psychology behind numbers, and you can make a 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.720 lot happen with numbers and the way you communicate and 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:49.679 you speak about numbers. So they can be very motivating, 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.840 they can be demotivating. They can keep a lot of 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:55.160 pressures away from the company, or they can put a 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:56.160 lot of pressure. 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:56.560 On the company. 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:59.760 Actually within the company, we're not talking so much about financials. 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:02.600 Talk to a highly creative people. They don't only hear 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:04.520 you talk about the numbers all the time. They want 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:07.200 to hear you talk about as a as a leader, 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.600 as a human, as someone who also loves the products. 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.520 And I also see this as my shop of giving 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:17.119 a clear, consistent story to the outside world, but then 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:20.240 at the same time having a story that is actually 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:22.360 building our culture internally. 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.560 On has come a long distance in a short time. 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:40.200 It was launched in twenty ten by a trio of 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.040 Swiss founders, including a former World Iron Man champion. A 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:47.240 caught on quickly as a brand for serious runners. By 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.280 twenty fourteen, the company had reached ten million dollars in 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:53.680 revenue and began to sell in the United States. From 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.760 there on, picked up the pace, developing new footwear lines 0:03:56.800 --> 0:04:02.000 and diversifying into apparel. Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer took notice. 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:05.160 He became an investor and consultant, with his name on 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.600 the company's first line of tennis shoes. The twenty twenty 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:12.560 COVID pandemic sparked a boom in outdoor recreation, sending on 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:16.000 sales soaring they set the stage for a listing on 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:20.360 the New York Stock Exchange in September twenty twenty one. 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:25.119 The athletic industry has always been one of the best 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:29.359 industries within retail that only got better during COVID. 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:32.480 The barrier to entry for newer brands and disruptor brands 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.039 are lower than ever. What we're seeing from some of 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:37.279 the newer players is just more innovation. I think that 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:38.640 we're seeing it's a good time for some of these 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:39.479 brands to grow. 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.520 With just over a billion dollars in sales last year, 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:47.960 On's a relatively small player in a crowded category. Still 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:49.960 going public has made a difference. 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:52.240 I think it made us a better company, so it 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.400 challenged us, and you know, we decided to play in 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.400 the Champions League. We decided we wanted that scrutiny. It 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:02.960 brought huge opportunities obviously in terms of brand awareness as well. 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:07.760 Wall Street is certainly aware on and investors seem to 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:08.880 like what they see. 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:11.560 We want to build a company that is here to 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:15.599 stay this positive emotion of growing, but growing in a 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:21.000 meaningful way, from social impact, sustainability, how your product's resonating 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:24.839 with your customers. That's very important, and setting up that 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:27.800 framework is basically a core. 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:28.520 Of my work. 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:30.800 It sounds like you have to take shareholder demands and 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.640 sort of translate them into something that's going to be 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:35.800 motivating for the people who work for you. Is that 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:36.560 how it works? 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:37.479 Yeah, definitely. 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:41.039 The number is never the goal, and the growth should 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:43.680 allow us to do that in a sustainable way. 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.279 And so it can growth sometimes be too fast, yes. 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.599 It can. Well for us, it's important that we're kind 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.120 of bringing that exponential and huge growth of over sixty 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:55.760 percent year of year slowly down into what we call 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:59.400 a more durable growth going going forward over the next years. 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:03.799 On is setting its pace for a marathon, not a sprint. 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.000 It's confident in the strength of its technology, the cloud 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:11.400 tech cushioning system, invented and patented by its founders. In 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.359 many ways, On likes to identify as a tech company. 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.599 We create products, we create a brand, but everything else 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:20.840 that we do is actually technology and data. So from 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:27.120 product development, supply chain, to customer interaction to our own 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:31.279 eCOM environment, you really have the analytical depths and the 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:34.520 complexity of a tech company, but at the same time 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.279 you have the emotional highest of a consumer brant. 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.960 And I actually think this is a really nice combination. 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.599 Whatever else it is. On is a premium brand that's 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.960 had an impact on its sales strategy. Direct to consumer 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.000 channels have been bolstered by the opening of flagship stores 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:55.520 around the world, and while wholesale revenue remains robust, the 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:58.839 company is taking a selective approach to distribution. Have you 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.039 had to say no to some pointner, how do you 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:02.440 think about the wholesale Now. 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.800 We're trying to allocate resources to where it has the 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.839 biggest impact, and with that comes a lot of saying no. 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.800 We're working with the partners that are reaching the communities 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:13.960 that we want to reach, and so this has led 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:16.520 to the distribution that we have, which very much started 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.560 We front specialty accounts like fleet feed in the US, 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.920 but then evolved into more channel sporting goods, but then 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:27.480 also counts that or reaching an even younger audience like JD. 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:30.000 Or foot locker. 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:33.360 We're rooted in running, we are rooted in performance, and 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.680 there's still a lot of room that for us to grow, 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:38.720 a lot of market shed to gain. At the same time, 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.560 it gives you, it gives you credibility, and then the 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.200 shoes are also born in an everyday environment. 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.920 As On moves beyond its performance running niche to become 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:52.680 an everyday footwear choice. The company's betting that apparel will 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:56.080 broaden its reach in similar fashion. Why did they move 0:07:56.080 --> 0:07:57.239 into apparel come. 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.679 The mission is that that you move and you enjoy 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.120 and move, and the parallel is an important part of that. 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.600 It's growing. It's still relatively small. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:06.760 But we feel it will be an important part of 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:08.239 the future business. 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:08.679 Apparel. 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.920 We want to grow it over proportionally. Percentage you know 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:14.480 what it is in Percentage is actually not so important 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.800 for us. For us, it's important that we're building it 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.000 in a premium way and it's a multi year journey. 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.080 Another area with upside for On is tennis. 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:22.720 For US. 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:28.240 Tennis has two elements, right. I think one is it's 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:32.840 a huge opportunity from a brand awareness perspective beyond tennis, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.480 just how can we showcase ON as a sports for company. 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:40.320 And then we feel there's an opportunity to make tennis 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:44.520 more inclusive in many countries. It's still a very exclusive sport, 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:46.520 so how can we bring it to the masses and 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:51.160 how can the tennis look be transponded to an everyday look? 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:53.080 And that's definitely a big opportunity. 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.360 On has already established a strong presence globally and it 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:59.199 has plans to enlarge that footprint. 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:01.560 When you start a company in Switzerland, the first thing 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.560 you need to do is really leaving the country. So 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.120 we actually build a global company right from the beginning. 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:09.800 We still have significant room to grow in parts of Europe. 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.079 We are quite strong in Japan already, but just started 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.800 in Latin America. Big market China of course a big 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:18.600 focus for US and in the next years. 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:20.920 China is a country that everyone wants to be in, 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:22.600 but you have to do it right right, You actually 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:25.800 have to put significant investment forth to actually get it right. 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.200 If you kind of take a halfway strategy, you're not 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:29.760 going to be successful there. 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.040 Historically, but China has been both a great opportunity to 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:36.520 drive revenues, but critically it's also been better margin. People 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:39.640 will pay more for the same good abroad, and therefore 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.439 China has been not just the avenue of growth, has 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:43.160 been the best. 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:43.720 Avenue of growth. 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:48.000 The questions of whether that is tapering now are centered 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.360 around whether that's structural or is it sickly? 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:53.520 What does the path to success in China look like now? 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:56.400 Is it sort of back to some situation like normal? 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:59.160 How does it feel in China right now? 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.080 In China, it feels like we're still a very small 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.480 brand with a lot of potential. There's a lot of 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:08.480 macroeconomic uncertainty. We feel we're still so small as a 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:12.440 brand that the macroeconomic element is a bit less important 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:13.240 because we have so. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:16.360 Much room to just grow market share. 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:18.920 We're really at the point where I think we've proven 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:22.240 product market fit and now it's about scaling it. 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.360 Back in twenty nineteen, they were about fifteen people working 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:25.839 in China. 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:27.360 Today it's a team of one. 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:31.280 Hundred and fifty. There is not really a wholesale partnership 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:34.560 network in China, so it's all about building our own stores, 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.680 our own monoparant destinations, and this will take time, but 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.120 it's a great thing to have so we can really 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.880 engineer to cross over the next. 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.760 Years as CFO and co CEO with the Swiss Footwear 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:50.600 and the Parrel company on Martin and Hoffman has the 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.640 kind of job that keeps him on his choes. His 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.560 professional path has taken some unconventional turns. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.880 I am an engineer from a background so called an engineering, 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:04.760 computer science and business management, so not really a finance background. 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:07.320 Then I ended up in consulting and I've worked with 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.720 many amazing CFOs all around the world of bigger and 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:13.480 smaller companies, and I think this ignited. 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.400 My love for that shop and that role. 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.400 And then I transitioned into a CFO role myself at 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.160 a retail company here in Switzerland. 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:23.800 That's where I connected with Mark. 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.520 I asked him how he acquired CFO skills without formal 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:29.319 training in finance and accounting. 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:31.840 First, you need to have a love for mass and 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:34.960 that's also the same in computer science, it's the same background. 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.640 I think you need to lift the values off a CFO, 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:40.719 which is which is very important, and I think I 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.760 do this and try to be really a role model 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:46.080 in this as well. And last, but not least, it's 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:49.080 it's it's understanding the psychology of the numbers and this 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:51.720 is something that I learned from working with so many 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:54.000 different great CFOs all around the world. 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:59.240 For Hoffman and co CEO Mark Maura, building on this 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:02.080 business will be a mix of science and art. The 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.760 two principles meet in On's growing portfolio of retail stores 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.359 across the US, Europe and Asia. 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:12.040 Stores are magical, so much of the storytelling sure is 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.160 commercials or being targeted by your social media account, but 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.400 the best way to tell that story is to show 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.520 that product in environment that you control. 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:22.800 Flagships have to be thought of not just as stores, 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:25.480 but also as marketing vehicles. So you have to think 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:28.040 about what it does in terms of new customer acquisition, 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:29.920 what it does in terms of the halo that we 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.560 often see when a flagship opens in a market, all 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:34.640 of a sudden, the e commerce business gets a big left. 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.199 On has opened stores in some of the world's trendiest 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:42.240 shopping areas, Region Street in London, NoHo in New York, 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:47.880 Tokyo's fashionable Harajuku district. Martin Hoffman showed me around the 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:51.560 store located below On's global headquarters in Zeerich. 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:53.240 What's super important for us that. 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:58.800 The store really screams the premininess of the print, and 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:02.920 so the stands for performance and design and this should 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.960 be reflected in the in the store as well. And 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.800 then we want to connect to the local communities as well, 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.120 so many of our stores have a space in the 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:12.400 area you can actually meet for a run. 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:16.720 Each outlet also offers opportunities for consumers to learn about 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.960 On's history and it's constantly evolving technology. 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:22.920 In the traditional running shoel, you only have the material 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.240 that you can play with. You can make the film software, 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:27.880 you can make the film harder, and we come up 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:30.400 with a technology where you also have an engineering part 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:33.120 in it's a real technology part. The idea is always 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:36.280 the same. So you have a soft landing and a 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.320 firm push off. So the soft landing is generated by 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:43.560 the elements collapsing when you land and then they become firm, 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.000 and so you have this nice push off when you 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:47.440 basically need the speed. 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:53.640 Alongside technology that boosts performance, there's innovation that advances sustainability. 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:59.400 Cyclon On's Circular Product subscription program centers on recyclable shoes 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:02.640 and a parrel made from caster beans and caster oil. 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:03.400 Out of the. 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:07.000 Cast bean, we generate in oil, and out of the 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:11.440 oil we basically generate palets, and from the palants we 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.880 can make the outsol of the shoe, but we also 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:18.000 make yarn for the upper so the whole shoe is 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:21.560 basically the same material out of that bean. And the 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:25.880 advantage is that this product can be fully recycled. And 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:29.160 because we felt this is a product that you shouldn't own, 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:31.720 you can only subscribe for it, so you can only 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.280 rend it and only when you send your old product 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:35.800 back you get a new product. 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.640 This sounds like good business because you with a subscription model, 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:43.080 you get loyalty from your customers. How do the financials 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:44.800 work around that kind of product? 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:47.120 So for us, the most important thing is that the 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:50.080 product comes back, so that really the customer engages in 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:53.200 that circularity, and of course it gives us a nice interaction. 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.840 VI is the customer at that important moment of repurchasing 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.240 and also offering more products. 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:00.960 That we have in that in that program. 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.880 At the moment, it's still a pilot phase, but we 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.440 already have thirty thousand subscribers, so it's growing quickly. 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:12.440 On's workforce is growing quickly as well. For Vmann, it's 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:16.200 a challenge to scale up while preserving the culture. Over startup. 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:20.080 We invest a lot in the offices that you feel home, 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.160 that you can actually be at your best yourself and 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.560 people work very differently, and we take a lot of 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:30.240 input from the sports world, actually the athlete spirit right 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.080 building a sports team that can perform at the best, 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:36.480 but also talking a lot about the explorer spirit, how 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:40.040 can we really tap into new things, continue being disruptive. 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:42.760 And On has been spreading that spirit across the world. 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.880 We have a big office in Portland, in Shanghai, in Berlin, 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:51.360 South Paolo, Melbourne. We have eighty different nationalities head On. 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:53.440 It's very important to have a diverse team because we 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.840 have a very diverse landscape of customers and in order 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.480 to understand that it's important to have all the different 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.320 backgrounds mindsets here in the team as well. 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:04.840 Do you find it difficult in some markets to find 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:05.960 enough of the right people. 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:07.080 We are very fortunate. 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:11.000 We got forty thousand applications last year for four hundred hires, 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:13.720 so he can be very selective and really build a 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:14.800 high performing team. 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.360 The Swiss footwear and apparel firm On began with an 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:23.880 athlete's imagination. Retired world champion ironman Olivier Baiernhardt dreamed up 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:28.240 the prototype for a revolutionary new running shoe. A decade later, 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:33.120 another Swiss athletic champion entered On's orbit, Roger Federer, winner 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.720 of twenty Grand Slam tennis titles. He joined the company 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:40.160 as an investor and an entrepreneur, bringing much more than 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:41.680 his name to the relationship. 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.840 We're very lucky that that he loves to engage, especially 0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:46.920 on the product, and I think this is also where 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.400 with his expertise and his cultural understanding of tennis, where 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:52.560 he can add a lot of values. It's great to 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.400 also have with him, you know, very strategic discussions around, 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:58.760 for example, how do we want to shape tennis as 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:01.200 part of On and Watch be our ole world strategy. 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.719 Sports endorsements and celebrity partnerships can have a major impact 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:10.680 on credibility and boost market share. They can also backfire disastrously, 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.960 as with the ugly controversies that led added As to 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.359 end its relationship with Kanye West. 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.160 Tying yourself to a celebrity can certainly be a driver 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:21.320 brand awareness, but it can also be a liability and 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:22.800 you have to be really careful. 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:25.760 You find the right person to wrap your brand at 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:28.119 the right time, and there is nothing better. You find 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:30.320 the right person to wrap your brand at the wrong 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.800 time and you're in trouble. You find the wrong person 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.399 at the wrong time and throw your hands up in 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:36.720 the air. 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.000 On leadership, Team takes the process of recruiting and working 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.399 with its brand representatives very seriously. 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.199 I think it's a lot about the conversations that you 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:50.040 need to have before you actually engage with Roger was 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:54.440 creats that all started. He was here in the lap 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.160 and afterwards we went out for dinner, so we really 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.080 had a lot of time to get to know each other. 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.480 And similar to hiring a new team member. 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:07.280 We can never rely from a profitability perspective or from 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:11.440 a revenue perspective or growth perspective just on one athlete 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:13.920 or area of business. Are trying to create the balanced 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:18.359 portfolio that reaches into many different communities and that shows 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.159 kind of who On is from all different aspects. So 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:24.200 take Ben Shelton in tennis and Legoschriantek in tennis, very 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:28.200 different characters, but ultimately both are very, very strongly aligned 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:29.160 with who we are. 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.000 Ben Shelton's run to the semi finals of the twenty 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:37.320 twenty three US Open brought on priceless exposure. The upcoming 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:41.040 Paris Olympics represent an even bigger opportunity. 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.919 A very large luxury all the image is sponsoring. We 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:47.920 are guaranteed this is going to be a beautiful Olympics 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:50.480 that becomes a spectacle around luxury, around spending, and so 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.840 it's going to be an interesting branding exercise that we're 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:55.400 going to see in a very unique way. 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:59.320 Switzerland's delegation well, once again we're on gear at the 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:02.840 opening Serah and the company will put significant resources into 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:05.240 every aspect. If it's Olympic participation. 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.479 It's going to be an important Olympics for us because 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:10.680 Parison's in the heart of Europe. It's in the heart 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:12.600 of where we are, so we really want to be 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.920 present in Paris. We want to talk to the community there, 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:19.760 We want to show up with innovation, with sustainability. 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:22.320 A lot of the product developments that we're doing and 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:26.160 how we're empowering and enabling athletes to win is going 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:28.639 to come together around Paris. So that's a very very 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:33.320 important internal element and it significantly helped us to accelerate 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:34.560 product innovation. 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:35.320 This will be the. 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:39.840 First Olympics where On truly is a global premium sportsware brand. 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:41.960 And what kind of bump would you expect to see 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:44.679 from the Olympics? Are you watching? Are you waiting for 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.440 this to have a noticeable impact on the numbers? 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.439 It's all about credibility, and so you see On. You 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.480 see On competing at the highest level, really winning there, 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:57.800 and this gives the prend credibility. I don't need the 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:00.520 same shoe that the best runners in the WoT need, 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:04.880 but I get really excited by being able to wear 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:07.400 the same technology like the best runners. 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:10.960 Over the last ten years, Martin Hoffman has helped guide 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:14.359 On from a scrappy ten million dollar upstart to a 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:18.240 billion dollar publicly listed power player. I want you to 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:21.680 know what he sees coming in the next decade. What's 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:24.920 the opportunity that excites you the most over the next 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:26.520 five to ten years On. 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:31.240 I think we have so many opportunities to grow, and 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:34.639 it's so much fun to work in a growing environment, 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:37.920 to work with emotional products, to work on a global scale. 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:43.200