Bricks bring clicks in On’s experience
Running footwear brand On has said it views itself very much as an omnichannel company, but that opening its own bricks-and-mortar stores has brought benefits, including, perhaps surprisingly, online.
The Swiss company now has flagship stores in its home city, Zurich, as well as in New York, Tokyo and London. Its London store is the newest, having opened its doors in February.
Speaking recently to business news channel CNBC, On’s chief marketing officer, Alex Griffin, said the company was proud of its e-commerce achievements and of its “very strong standing in wholesale”, but that opening its own flagship stores in key locations had always been a dream.
He pointed out that opening bricks-and-mortar stores had driven a large increase in online interest in the brand. At the time of the launch of the London store, he said search traffic for On and its products had multiplied by seven.
Even after the store in London’s Regent Street had opened, Mr Griffin said On had seen four times the previous level of search traffic. “It just shows the groundswell that can happen when you open a store and have a physical flagship in a location,” he said.
