Roger Federer on Partnering with On Running and Designing his First Shoe, The Roger

The Business of Fashion Podcast

The Business of Fashion

Fashion & Beauty, Business, Arts

4.6 • 770 Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2020

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The tennis legend and cult running shoe label On are launching a sneaker together. In the latest edition of the BoF Podcast, Federer shares what's next.

ZURICH, Switzerland — It’s been 17 years since Roger Federer won his first Wimbledon championship. Now, the 20-time Grand Slam winner is commemorating the date with the launch of his first sneaker for Swiss running label On.

Named “The Roger,” Federer’s debut is inspired by a tennis shoe, but it’s designed to be much lighter and intended for everyday wear, rather than professional sports. As with On’s more performance-driven trainers, the shoe is outfitted with the “CloudTec” technology (a special sole designed to enhance the running experience) for which On is best known. The company’s first “Cloud” performance sneaker, launched in 2010, quickly gained traction among the running community.

Federer’s tie-up with On is much more than the typical ambassador-brand relationship. For starters, he invested an undisclosed amount in the company last year, consulting for the brand before signing on to co-develop product. As the tennis star put it to BoF's Imran Amed in an exclusive interview for the BoF Podcast, he wanted to see if it would be possible “to create a deal and partnership that is more than the pay-to-play deal.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Is there a way to create a deal and a partnership and a relationship that is more than just a pay-to-play kind of deal that we've seen and have done for so many years?
0:11.0	There's no shortage of sneakers out there. Everyone's in the sneaker business. What makes this shoe different from all the other shoes out there?
0:19.0	We dream big and believe that this is actually maybe the arguably most comfortable lifestyle
0:24.3	sticker out that it's going to come out now.
0:29.6	Hi, this is Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Business of Fashion, and welcome to a very
0:34.9	special episode of the BOF podcast. Today is the global launch of a new
0:40.0	tennis-inspired sneaker by none other than eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.
0:46.6	Last year, Roger signed a partnership with A Swiss Running Shoe Company that's built a huge market
0:52.0	share in Switzerland and is now looking to go global.
0:55.0	I sat down with Roger to understand why he decided to get involved with On in the first place
1:00.0	and become an investor. What makes this specific sneaker so special and his thoughts on his future
1:06.0	career and the role that On may play within it? Here's Roger Federer Inside Fashion.
1:18.7	Good morning, Roger. How are you today? Thank you very much. Good morning. I feel good.
1:24.2	Thank you. How are you doing? I'm okay. It's still in lockdown. Well, kind of. London's
1:31.3	lockdown is beginning to open up a bit. You know, you've been in Switzerland, is that right? How have you been
1:38.6	spending your time during this very unusual period for all of us? Yes, for me also I've been in Switzerland
1:47.0	throughout, I have not moved. I got back from South Africa where I played the match
1:55.0	for the foundation in Feb as everything was starting to sort of come about.
2:01.6	And when we came home, a few, I'd say probably a couple of weeks later,
2:06.6	we were skiing in the mountains.
2:09.6	I wasn't, the kids were, and my wife were.
2:11.6	They switched off the ski lifts and everything came to halt at that time. And ever since we've been in Switzerland and spending the lockdown here and just making sure we do what we're allowed to do.
	...

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