May 14 (Reuters) - On Holding raised its annual

sales forecast on Tuesday, after beating quarterly sales

expectations, as the sports footwear maker's focus on selling

premium priced products and bringing in newer items helped

attract customers.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Major sportswear companies have been grappling with

dwindling sales after wholesalers in the United States and

Europe started to cut back on inventory as higher costs of

living limited customer spending on pricey footwear and apparel.

But wholesale retailers have opened up shelf spaces for

upstart brands such as On and Deckers Outdoor's ( DECK ) Hoka,

which have been able to pull in customers through innovative

product lines and stay relevant at a time when name brands like

Nike ( NKE ) and Adidas are taking a hit.

CONTEXT

On has launched several products such as Cloudmonster 2,

Cloudspark and Cloudsurfer Trail this year in the running and

performance shoe category where Nike ( NKE ) and Adidas have hugely

lagged in innovation, making way for new players to emerge.

On is also opening its own stores and expanding into

training and tennis footwear categories, as customers

increasingly choose its products even at elevated price levels

compared to bigger brands.

KEY QUOTE(S)

"(United States) still very positive is what we see in the

sellouts both on our channel as well as with the key account

partners," said Martin Hoffmann, co-CEO and CFO, On Holding.

"China is on the right path to deliver the cross aspirations

that we have from the region. The product is resonating very

strongly with the customer," he added.

BY THE NUMBERS

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

2.29 billion ($2.52 billion), versus its prior expectation of

CHF 2.25 billion.

Its first-quarter sales rose 20.9% to CHF 508.2 million,

compared with LSEG estimates of CHF 497.4 million.

Quarterly adjusted net income rose to CHF 106.5 million, or

CHF 0.33 per share, from CHF 48.8 million, or CHF 0.15 per share

a year ago.

($1 = 0.9073 Swiss francs)