Founded in 2010, the athletic shoe brand is known for its distinctive, hollowed-out cushioning soles and its celebrity investor, retired Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer. On, which started out making running shoes, launched a tennis shoe line in 2021 and signed a sponsorship deal with Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, who just won the French Open.
The company, which went public in 2021, is going through an explosive growth spurt, posting a 69% increase in revenue last year to $1.3 billion. On is also targeting luxury consumers, teaming up with Spanish fashion house Loewe on a line of high-priced shoes.
On is leasing space on the ground floor of the Carmine’s building from L3 Capital, the Chicago investment firm redeveloping the property. The original Carmine’s closed in February, and L3 demolished the restaurant and cleared the site for the two-story project. Carmine’s will occupy the entire second floor, with retail space comprising the street frontage below.
It’s unclear how large the On store will be. The street-level space in the new building totals about 7,400 square feet. L3 plans to complete the development next year.
L3 and On representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
On is arriving on the Gold Coast amid a prosperous time for retailers and their landlords there. Vacancies on Oak, Rush and other streets in the neighborhood stayed low during the pandemic as wealthy shoppers continued to spend money, a trend that has continued.
On sells most of its shoes through other retailers, which accounted for nearly 64% of its sales in 2022, according to its 2022 annual report. More than 9,200 stores around the world carry its shoes. But the company has been building out a small store network of its own, opening its first U.S. flagship location in New York in 2020 and a store in Los Angeles last year.
On also has signed leases for stores in Miami and Colorado, according to the report. Outside the U.S., the company runs stores in Zurich, Tokyo and at multiple locations in China.
“Going forward, we plan to open a limited number of additional retail flagship stores in other major metropolitan centers as well as athletic destinations where we believe they can operate profitably and create further brand momentum,” the company wrote in its annual report. “This unfiltered window into our brand will allow us to develop a closer relationship with our customers through exclusive experiences, feature our full product offering, retain pricing control and drive net sales growth across both channels.”