Now on everyone’s feet, this young sports label displays popularity and financial results close to the famous French house.
In recent years, sports brands have become hipper than fashion labels themselves. In France and abroad, many sports equipment manufacturers have surpassed their counterparts who once held style hegemony, both in terms of sympathy and figures. In hexagon, Decathlon And Intersport are now challenging classic fashion brands in terms of market share: in the first quarter of 2025, they were the top two brands where the French purchased their clothes the most.
On the world stage, the same dynamic is observed, with 100% sports brands which are reaching the top and will tickle the luxury houses established over many centuries. Among them, a young label which presents “margins resembling those of the luxury industry”and which sticks Hermes very close in terms of gross margin. In the first quarter of 2026, it thus displays a solid margin of 64.2%, when that of Hermes is 71.1% for the year. Paradoxically, its main competitors in the sporting world, more exposed in the media, have much less attractive results than the little Swiss. Close to the French luxury giant, while far surpassing its direct competitors: this is the brand We which displays these cheeky positive results.
Known for its technical sports shoes, We was founded in Switzerland in 2010. The fruit of the ambition of three passionate men – one of whom was an Ironman champion -, We can boast of benefiting from a technical image as well as a stylish image. It claims to have created an exclusive cushioning technology for its sneakers: Cloudtec.
Over the years, the Swiss brand has ended up taking on incredible fashion desirability. Like Hokawhich is displayed at the feet of the President of the Republic, We has won over a number of celebrities (like Oprah Winfrey or FKA Twigs), who now wear them off the athletics and running track. A popularity catalyzed by the entry into the capital of Roger Federer (2019); but also through clever fashion collaborations with fashion houses like Loewe and stars praised for their style like Zendaya. This year, the actress co-created a collection with the Swiss label.
Like the big luxury houses, We plays on desirability levers to make these considerable margins. But on the production side, nothing to see: where houses like Hermes rely on centuries-old artisanal know-how, ultra-limited production and a dimension of rarity to margin, We rather bases it on the gap between affordable production costs and higher sales prices than those of its rivals.
In 2024, the media The World reported that the pairs were bought in Vietnam at a low price then resold for up to “twenty times” their purchase price. Margins “four times” superior to those of its rivals adidas, NikeOr Pumawho nevertheless have their shoes manufactured in the same Vietnamese factories. However, the price of sneakers We is justified by the fact that it alone holds the patented Cloudtec technology, which gives it technical legitimacy and an unparalleled competitive advantage in its world.
