Dive Brief:
- Expanding its offerings, athletics shoe company On launched its first kids and pre-teen footwear collection on Thursday, according to a press release shared with Retail Dive.
- The new Cloud Play and Cloud Sky sneakers are available through the brand’s direct-to-consumer website and Nordstrom.
- On’s new collection adapted its CloudTec technology to activate at much lower weights than its adult shoes, according to the press release. The shoes also have a fortified toe cap for protection, plus a strap closure combined with elastic lace to increase security.
Dive Insight:
On’s colorful kid and pre-teen collection is meant to be fun while catering to the unique needs of younger age groups.
“We were so inspired by the expansiveness of a child’s imagination when first concepting this line,” Gérald Marolf, head of product, said in a statement. “The intention was to create a fun and flexible shoe that would encourage creativity through movement. We adapted our Swiss-Engineered performance footwear, built first and foremost to sustain top-quality comfort, to create shoes that also would provide young movers the ability to endure those occasional growth spurts.”
The Switzerland-based athletics brand operates its own website and stores, but its net sales from wholesale are higher than its net sales from DTC. The company announced it would partner with Dick’s Sporting Goods last March as part of an expansion. On has also been profitable since 2014, and its co-CEO Martin Hoffmann told Retail Dive in January that this has always been an important goal for the brand.
On has increasingly put effort into its sustainability efforts as well. The brand announced the creation of a shoe made from carbon emissions through carbon capture technology, with the protype being approximately 70% CO2 based.
In November, On added apparel to its resale program after initially only allowing it for footwear. Several other brands have launched resale programs for customers over the past few months, including J. Crew, Hanna Andersson and Kate Spade New York.
