Nov 12 (Reuters) - On Holding ( ONON ) raised its annual

sales forecast after beating quarterly revenue estimates on

Tuesday, driven by strong holiday season demand for its new

running shoes such as Cloud X4 and Cloudnova 2 from customers

willing to pay full prices.

The Roger Federer-backed sportswear maker's efforts to

invest in marketing by sponsoring athletes at the Paris

Olympics, as well as partnering with actor Zendaya to gain more

customer attention, helped bring in new buyers and also take

market share from bigger rival Nike ( NKE ).

Heading into the holiday season, On has also responded to

the growing demand for its shoes and apparel by expanding its

own-store base, opening flagship stores in New York, Melbourne

and Milan.

"The strong momentum really allows us to focus on full

price," Martin Hoffmann, co-CEO and CFO of On, told Reuters in

an interview, adding the company does not need discounting

during the holiday season.

However, On's third-quarter selling, general and

administrative expenses increased 36% to CHF 312.7 million

($354.49 million) over last year, as part of its expansion and

partnership efforts.

This resulted in the company's adjusted profit per share

falling to CHF 0.15, compared to CHF 0.20 per share a year

earlier.

Retailers such as Nordstrom and Dick's Sporting Goods are

also placing On and Hoka shoes at storefronts, helping On see a

23.2% rise in net sales through the wholesale channel to CHF

389.1 million.

Third-quarter sales rose 32.3% to CHF 635.8 million,

compared with analysts' estimate of CHF 617.3 million, according

to data compiled by LSEG.

On now expects full-year 2024 reported net sales of at least

CHF 2.29 billion ($2.60 billion), versus CHF 2.26 billion

forecast earlier.

($1 = 0.8821 Swiss francs)