On’s global retail concept reaches Dubai

On opened its first UAE store at Mall of the Emirates on 22 July 2026, bringing the performance brand’s expanding international retail presence to Dubai. The opening provides a timely context for revisiting the retail concept system Specific Generic developed through its historical work with On—an adaptable framework connecting product education, movement, modular display and brand experience.

Why it matters

A successful retail concept is not a single interior. It is a system capable of supporting a brand as it grows. Specific Generic’s work with On began by asking how a digital-first performance brand could become physical: how customers could understand technical products through space, how movement could shape the journey, and how display systems could adapt to new products and locations. That thinking was explored across projects including On’s first global flagship in New York and environments in Zürich, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo. The Dubai opening provides a timely example of the broader challenge facing an expanding international brand. The objective is not for every store to look identical, but for a strong underlying framework to preserve the relationship between brand, product and customer while responding to different markets and buildings.

Further Reading