This Sneaker Brand Just Told Black Friday Shoppers to Take a Hike

Black Friday? More like Black Eye for bargain hunters.

While retailers scramble to slash prices, one sneaker company is flipping the script—telling customers to forget about discounts. Bold move or brand suicide?

The Anti-Discount Doctrine

In an era where 'sale' signs multiply like crypto scams, this brand's refusing to play the markdown game. Their pitch? Quality over quarterly desperation.

The Price Anchoring Paradox

Retailers typically use Black Friday to artificially inflate 'original' prices before fake discounts. These guys? Cutting out the theater—and possibly their Q4 revenue.

One hedge fund analyst quipped: 'Either they're sitting on Vatican-level profit margins, or this is the dumbest flex since WeWork's IPO.'

Key Takeaways

• On Holding's quarterly net sales were up 25% year-over-year, beating expectations.
• The Roger Federer-backed footwear company raised its full-year outlook again, projecting 34% sales growth. But executives also said not to expect deep discounts this holiday season.

Consumers continue to snap up On Holding’s premium sneakers. But they shouldn't expect them to get cheaper this holiday season.

Shares of On Holding (ONON) soared more than 20% in Wednesday trading after the Roger Federer-backed Swiss sneaker Maker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook yet again. On posted adjusted earnings of 0.43 Swiss francs ($0.54) per share on net sales that jumped 25% year-over-year to 794.4 million Swiss francs ($994.2 million). Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected CHF 0.28 and CHF 770.4 million, respectively.

The company lifted its guidance for a third straight quarter. It now expects full-year sales to grow by 34% on a constant-currency basis, up from at least 31%; gross profit margin of around 62.5%, up from 60.5% to 61%; and adjusted EBITDA margin above 18.0%, up from 17.0% to 17.5%.

On co-founder and executive co-chairman Caspar Coppetti told CNBC the company won't be offering Black Friday deals and will be "full price through the holiday season." CEO Martin Hoffmann— Investopedia interviewed him earlier this year—said that On's "focus on premium, on full-price sales, on innovation, on that intersection between performance and design is just resonating very strongly with the consumer, and it’s really setting ourselves apart."

Some market watchers have suggested that consumers broadly shouldn't expect the holiday season to be rich with deals this year.

Why This Matters

On Holding is leveraging its premium brand positioning, direct-to-consumer channels, and celebrity partnerships to drive growth. The Swiss company is expanding its footwear and apparel lines while maintaining full-price sales through the holiday season.

 Hoffmann told Investopedia earlier this year that the company's ability to set itself apart is boosting its success despite tariffs, even as the majority of its footwear is made and imported from Asia.

"Whether we’re facing tariffs or a pandemic, it’s important to know what you stand for as a brand. We’re still growing fast as a premium brand," he said. "The combination gives us many opportunities to be able to offset the impact as a company as we bring new products at a higher level of innovation and at higher price points."

By contrast, some of the company's competitors have been hit hard by tariffs.

Despite today's MOVE higher, On's shares are still down more than 20% this year.

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