Tifosi Sports: Success Story 2023 & Beyond

The Team at Tifosi Sports in 2022 has truly proven that our culture of “One Team” and our motivation to move “Onwards and Upwards” is paying dividends, and taking our business attainments and market share in the local market to greater heights.

Our product range may continue to be referred to as the QC shoe, OC shoe, Cloud shoe and/or the Roger Federer shoe when, in actual fact, the brand we distribute in Southern Africa has quite a simple name – it’s On. It is the proprietary technology in the brand’s range of sportswear products that has all-day walkers, every day runners and extreme athletes wearing the brand and talking about it.

Internationally, On continues to grow as a global sportswear brand, challenging and taking on larger and well established brands in the running world. Powered with On’s “cloud based” lower sole technology, On running shoes are helping sports individuals compete at either social or professional levels to reach improved performance. Added to this, On is big on its Sustainability endeavours and this shows in all their recent launches – be it in their shoe, apparel or accessory range.

From 2023, most On shoes will be made of streamlined upper material with up to 75% of the polyester used in the upper of each shoe being from recycled material. The latter is also part of On’s strategy as an organisation to reduce their overall environmental impact.

In South Africa, our achievements with the On brand since 2017 have been too numerous to mention in this update, suffice to say that we continue to grow our sales and volumes by over 45% per annum with increased market share in the local road running and trail running community.

Our star performer in sales volumes in 2022 was the Cloudmonster. Simply put, with the launch of the Cloudmonster style, running has never felt like this before and this “rocker shaped” road running shoe, with big Cloud elements, has proven perfect to energise any run from a short 5km to marathon distance.

Special mention must also be made of the Cloudstratus and Cloudflow styles for both male and female categories. Both these styles, together with the Cloudmonster, have assisted Tifosi Sports to provide a running shoe range ideal for the local consumer.

Since we launched the more supportive Cloudstratus in South Africa in 2021, we knew that this On running shoe was going to be a game changer for long distance runners. Our own view of this style is also reflected in the reviews that we have received from casual and elite runners in 2022. Packed with two layers of Helion™ enriched CloudTec® and a specifically designed Speedboard®, the Cloudstratus delivers increased vertical and horizontal cushioning, big energy return, durability, and road protection. This road running shoe only weighs 305 grams and is ideal for runners looking for superior support and traction on all types of road surface. The Cloudstratus has become a go-to shoe for all half-marathon, marathon, and ultra-marathon runners.

For our smaller and more nimble runners, the Cloudflow style has continued its success in our markets. Now in its 3^rdgeneration, this lightweight 238-gram shoe offers runners a fast, spring-like energy and responsive feeling with fully cushioned road protection. The Cloudflow is a simple go-to shoe for runners looking for a lightweight shoe – especially those looking at picking up the pace.

In our trail and off-road running range of shoes, one of our main successes in the last 2 years has been the launch of the 295-gram (wrap-fit construction) Cloudultra trail running shoe. The initially underrated Cloudultra with Missiongrip™ and double layer of Helion™ and CloudTec® sole has assisted many athletes in achieving impressive results this year. True testimony to the durability and comfort delivered by this style can be seen in the superior results that both Nicky Booyens and Herman Van Der Colff, our South African sports ambassadors, achieved in the 2021 to 2022 period. Together with our tougher Cloudventure and Cloudwander styles, the Tifosi Sports outdoor sales teams have achieved good gains in our trail running market share in South Africa.

Thanks to the On Cloud model, On shoes have also “taken-off” in the lifestyle department. Built to be a cross-training and workout shoe or just a good-looking shoe offering high levels of all-day comfort, this iconic shoe style with a speed lacing system has caught the attention of numerous “sneakerheads” and celebrities.

In the last 12 months, we have introduced a wider range of colourways to the Cloud shoe style and our PAD (performance all day) range is now complemented with the Cloudeasy, Cloudnova Form and the Roger styles. All these new additions to our shoe range have enabled Tifosi Sports to market our On products to a wider audience of male and female consumers in the 18 to 65 year old categories.

All On apparel is listed globally and locally at premium price points, and our On apparel sales are gaining traction. Next time you visit one of our resellers’ stores in SA, take a few minutes to view and try on items such as our weather jackets, running shorts or tights, or even our recently launched ladies performance bras. The uniqueness of our range and the attention to design detail and manufacturing quality are sure to impress you.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff and stakeholders, who together with our retail customers and their respective teams, have helped grow the On brand in SA to date. Our success story with the On brand is truly a remarkable one, and we look forward to breaking further thresholds and seeing more South Africans wearing the On brand in the next few years.

With much gratitude and appreciation

The Tifosi Sports Team