Six young athletes, one team that will redefine the next generation of running. Meet On Athletics Club Europe: Our brand-new track team for up-and-coming runners who dare to Dream On.
Source: On Athletics Club Europe
As On increased distribution the company is facing the reality of entering more mainstream sneaker marketplaces. The brand, no longer in specialty running shops, is dealing with a new promotional environment and the challenge of educating a new audience. The difficult aspect of gaining market share when sitting next to Nike and adidas at JD Sports and Foot Locker is often the moment when a company decides to double down on their growth strategy, or they take a step back to recapture what drove the brand’s ability to become prominent enough to IPO.
On appears to understand the why of how they reached a higher status in the running world. The company has reverted back to a performance centered approach, while only using small collabs to hopefully cater to youth culture. The On Athletic Club sits at the intersection of a long-time discussion on the difference between sport in the U.S. and in the international market. In Europe sport isn’t confined to a false narrative of amateur vs professional athletics like it is in the U.S. NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) has begun to change the U.S. considerably, but amateur sports have not been treated in a similar fashion to how youth athletes are treated in Europe.
Should America Start Paying The Elite Amateur Athletes Like In Europe? – ARCH-USA
The article above broke down how young athletes could be paid in the sport of soccer. The tiered structure existed long before athletes in the U.S. could capitalize on their NIL. The unique thing here is that an athlete in Europe wasn’t simply able to monetize who they are, or their social media following. The athlete was able to secure a deal with a brand or with a team as early as 13. In the U.S. athletes are limited to travel team competitions which have become pay to play except in the most extreme instances when a footwear company is paying a coach who then courts the best athletes for a travel team. NIL has disrupted this, but as it stands youth sports in the U.S. often lacks structure.
The ON Athletics Club Europe is an elite team of young athletes. Like Nike’s Union Athletic Club (which replaced Nike’s disgraced Oregon Project), the program features prospects who will hopefully transition into competition at the highest level. This inherently creates an exclusive training camp limiting the reach of the team, but for On, it ensures the team is going to become more competitive where it matters the most. OAC is naturally situated to launch in Europe as the home base of the company is there, but with the extensive amount of growth by On in the U.S. an OAC for the U.S. presents an interesting opportunity for marketing, training and a route into the niche sport of track and field which is underserved throughout the U.S., but capable of becoming more important and a vital aspect of marketing for sneaker companies. While this isn’t a move which will bring attention to the brand in a considerable manner in sneaker retail, it’s a smart move that can be replicated and utilized in a strategy moving On closer to the market which sparked the companies success.
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In 2020 On Athletic Club did actually launch in the U.S., “based at a full-time training facility located in Boulder, Colorado. They eat, sleep and breath running. Led by three-time US Olympian and running legend Dathan Ritzenhein, our eleven athletes are training hard ahead of a new season of challenges, races and achieving their dreams.” The On Athletics Club is here | On (on-running.com) For obvious reasons I overlooked this event in 2020. What I have noticed in getting this information from Ana Alarcon is that the team trains in On, but runs events in other brand’s spikes. I do think this concept is a viable component and I wish the company focused more on this aspect vs increasing the number of stores they are adding at wholesale because if they placed on focus on direct sales to young runners via events, they could really build the foundation needed to continue the success of the company with its demographic.