On Cloud or ON Running, is a Swiss based company that has been THE hottest shoe to hit the market in 25-30years. One line I rep is a "No-Tie" shoelace and started using the OC "dealer locator" page to find some leads. A lot of stores that only carry dress or casual shoes, and don't carry athletic shoes AT ALL--were carrying On Cloud. I was shocked to see their coverage. I started calling some of the dealers in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi to give the pitch on my laces so I could send some samples. Turns out they ALL said they were blowing out of On Cloud regularly---could not keep them in. One of my oldest and most loyal customers on St. Simon's Island, GA who mostly carries high end casual and dress wear, told me about 4 years ago he had been carrying OC for almost a year and they were the hottest shoe brand he had ever seen. This guy used to buy for an Athletic Attic in Brunswick GA for 20+ years and had sold every kind of athletic shoe made.....Nike, Adidas, Brooks, Asics, etc....you name it, he bought and carried it. He told me no shoe or shoe brand in 25 years had even come close to what OC was doing for him. Last time we spoke about 4 months ago, he said they are STILL on fire--no let up at all, even with the market saturating with dealers. So first point I can make--they wouldn't be selling that well for this long if they were only trendy and nothing more. They are good shoes.
Secondly however, I see OC in true run specialty customers so they do work well with serious runners. Other accounts I have who are just 'shoe stores' or 'family shoe stores" and don't cater to serious runners, say they get customers in who buy them to walk in, causal wear, knock-around, general purpose comfort shoes....and they love them just as much. The cushioning and support is supposed to be top notch even with their unusual sole design, the wear and fit is as good as most other athletic shoes and overall they get excellent ratings from every single dealer I have(about 100 across 4 states). Not a single dealer has had any negative remark--not one. And trust me when I say, if there were any bad raps out there about a product or line--the dealers WILL tell reps about it. they have to vent to someone and we reps hear it all. Nothing negative as of yet and that covers over 4 years--almost 5. The only thing I will say is that while some really serious runners wear them for their running/training....the truly hard core serious runner(I mean HARD CORE mature runners who have been running for years and years, seem to view Brooks as one of 'their' top shoe brands. Brooks has been around for a very long time and earned their status for runners long ago and still have it. Brooks is by far a much preferred shoe over a Nike and it's not really close--that's how strong Brooks is but again, that is for your super-serious runners. Everyday, casual wearing and super comfortable shoe--On Cloud is top level and a good one to go with. They work for everyone--runners and non-runners. One dealer told me he calls them "the running shoes for people who don't run." You need to go to your local dealer and get fitted--that's the best way to see how you like them.
One side note--Roger Federer(being Swiss himself) invested heavily into the company a couple of years ago so they have a front face for marketing and that always helps. They are expanding into other sports(a natural thing for shoe companies as they grow, so that's a positive thing as well. They also have apparel(pricey) and other accessories(socks, headwear, etc). I can't speak for their apparel because I haven't asked any of my dealers--all I know is the line including footwear isn't cheap, but shoes are worth it. They are comparable to Hokas in price, but then all good quality shoes are in that same range. .
And here I rambled with too much info--sorry, just wanted to point out I have been in the sporting goods/apparel business for awhile-seen it all, and with the background I'm fortunate to have--I can attest to the fact OnRunning is an excellent shoe that is and has been for awhile now one of the hottest new shoe companies to hit the market in a long time. I will add that I was part of the initial Under Armour rep force back in 1998--first rep in the southeast for them for 8 years, and that was one remarkable story. Went from basement beginnings to global monster in under ten years---well, OnRunning is the same kind of story. That's the best way I can describe it based on dealer reports to me and general observation. That dealer in St. Simons I mentioned equated OnRunning to me this way---"You remember how Under Armour exploded for us at the Attic in the early 2000's? Well that's what is happening to OnRunning now....it is doing just like Under Armou did when you were selling UA to me then. Carrying for several years and it keeps growing--no let up at all".
Good luck--go find some to try on. I'll be interested to hear what you think.
