On Holding falls after Kylian Mbappé controversy in China

Kylian Mbappé is in the middle of a controversy in China that could impact On Holding AG (ONON). The French soccer superstar lost several Chinese sponsors on Tuesday after a video spread online. In it he was asked which meme about himself he liked most, and he picked one that put his face on "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator," which was widely considered a reference to Mao Zedong.

As part of the blowback, beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu, and cheese maker Milkground ended their deals with him, each indicating that it opposes any words and actions that hurt national sentiment. State broadcaster CCTV reportedly pulled ads featuring him, stopped airing his matches, and deleted its Weibo posts about him. LaLiga broadcasts in China were also suspended.

In September, On Holding (ONON) signed Mbappé to a 10-year deal that made him the face of its aggressive move into football. The deal also gave him an ownership stake in the company. On has already removed content featuring him from its Chinese social media accounts.

Looking at the big picture, China is a major part of On's (ONON) growth plans. Asia-Pacific makes up more than 20% of On's global sales, and sales there are up more than 50% this year. On has more than 80 stores in China and was aiming for 100 by year-end.

Shares of On (ONON) were down 3.5% in premarket action on Tuesday.

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