[First in Shanghai] 5 Foreign Outdoor / Sportswear Brands in SH

Shanghai isn't only steel, coffee foam, and late-night glass – it's a city that sweats. Scan the calendar and you'll notice it: barely a week passes without someone vaulting, sprinting, or cycling across a stage, track, or riverside promenade. FISE has just packed up its half-pipes, leaving faint tire marks and the hum of adrenaline behind, but the city hasn't exhaled yet. Next up is the 2025 Shanghai Sports Show, running November 27–29 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. The organizers have already revealed the event's visual identity – a first hint of the energy they plan to unleash.

The city's appetite for movement isn't slowing. As Shanghai leans further into its fitness-and-fresh-air era, the storefronts tell the story: international outdoor and sports brands keep arriving, staking claims from the Bund to the backstreets. Some chase mass appeal; others whisper to the climbers, the cyclists, the ultralight obsessives. Jackets, trail shoes, frame packs, carbon-fiber bikes – the vocabulary of motion keeps expanding.

The big names didn't just show up; they planted flags. Nike, Adidas, Arc'teryx – each choosing Shanghai for flagship debuts, concept spaces, even global firsts. And the numbers back the feeling on the sidewalks. According to Fudan University's Big Data Lab for Consumer Markets, sportswear labels made up 28% of all new flagship stores opened in Shanghai between last year and the first half of this one – a steady push that's reshaping the city's retail landscape, one logoed facade at a time.

We've also highlighted many first stores from sports brands in our First in Shanghai column before – like Salomon, which has settled into Anfu Road, as well as the niche cycling brand Pas Normal Studios at Now Space. Other newcomers include Hush Puppies, the 66-year-old footwear brand that opened its first themed flagship store in China at Hopson One Shanghai Wujiaochang, this September.

From international sports giants to rising niche players, brands are continuing to "set up home" in Shanghai – anchoring their China and even Asia-Pacific headquarters right here.

Crispi

Pudong doesn't usually trade in alpine fantasies. But step off the metro at Kerry Parkside and you'll now find a slice of Montebelluna, the quiet Italian town that taught the modern world how a boot should feel. Crispi – the hand-made footwear brand whispered about in hunting camps and discussed in gear forums like folklore – has opened its first China store.

It's a modest space, on purpose. No neon mountains, no avalanche-themed theatrics. Instead: earth-warm browns, raw wood, glass that earns its transparency. The room feels like it's been sanded by hand. Shanghai loves a big entrance, but Crispi chooses understatement – a confidence you only earn when your product speaks louder than your signage.

The brand's roots run deep. Founded in 1975 in Montebelluna, birthplace of the modern outdoor boot, Crispi takes its name from Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian – shoemakers by legend, patrons of the craft. Here, the myth is lived in practice. Leather is cut by hand, stitched by muscle memory, soles pressed and finished by people who measure time in layers, not product cycles. These are boots built to cross uneven ground without breaking you in first – a point of pride among those who know that comfort at 2,000 meters isn't a luxury, it's survival.

And yet Crispi isn't frozen in the mountains. The collection spans alpine and ice, yes, but also the city trail – the Shanghai sidewalk as a new frontier – and even military-grade tactical boots. In a market where performance brands are lining up for real estate and relevance, this opening signals more than a retail expansion. It's a bet that China's outdoor boom has matured – that the audience for hand-sewn durability and heritage craftsmanship isn't niche anymore, it's growing, discerning, and willing to pay for boots that earn their keep over years, not seasons.

Venue: Pudong Kerry Parkside | 浦东嘉里城

Address: L102A, 1378 Huamu Rd | 花木路1378号L102A

Norrøna

Pudong's courtyard of outdoor ambition just got another passport stamp. On October 18, Norway arrived – quietly, like a gust rolling off a glacier – as Norrøna opened a pop-up experience space at Kerry Parkside and flipped the switch on its China online flagship.

Founded in 1929 and still steered by the Jørgensen family, the brand carries nearly a century of Northern pragmatism – the kind shaped by weather that doesn't care about your ego. Its philosophy, "Loaded Minimalism," reads like Scandinavia distilled: gear stripped to essentials, then rebuilt with precision, a little Nordic severity, and just enough elegance to make a climber look like they meant to dress well.

In Europe, Norrøna has long been the quiet innovator – first with Gore-Tex, first taping seams to make jackets truly stormproof. If Arc'teryx is the cathedral, Norrøna is the cabin in the woods with a research lab tucked behind the firewood. The brand's range moves from mountaineering to skiing, from trail running to rock climbing – kit sharpened not for show, but for weather fronts, granite faces, and long silences in white-out terrain.

Bringing it to Shanghai is a recognition that China's outdoor market has shifted: the crowd trading coffee queues for trailheads isn't dabbling anymore. A century-old Norwegian outfitter staking a claim in Pudong says as much about the city's direction as any sales chart. The gear is here. The culture is already catching up.

Venue: Pudong Kerry Parkside | 浦东嘉里城

Address: L190, 1378 Huamu Rd | 花木路1378号L190

Eider

The French outdoor brand Eider quietly slipped into Shanghai this September, opening its first China store at Global Harbor. You probably haven't heard of it unless you ski in Chamonix or watch Korean hiking dramas – but in South Korea, it's a legit household name.

Eider did a soft landing last year via e-commerce, then teamed up with a local licensee to test the waters. Now they're officially going brick-and-mortar, hoping Shanghai's mall-to-mountain crowd is ready for a little Alpine romance.

The shop features the brand's core lines:

• M-Series: technical outdoor gear for people who actually go outside

• C-Series: city-leaning pieces for people who like looking like they go outside

Founded in 1962 in the French Alps, Eider trades on the whole "Spirit of Chamonix" thing – ice axes, peaks, that stoic European-mountaineering-heritage energy. The name comes from the eider duck, a hardy Arctic bird famous for thriving in brutal cold. Practical, if not particularly poetic.

Eider's footprint spans Europe, South Korea, and Taiwan, but this marks its first real push into the Chinese mainland. If the Global Harbor crowds adopt the look – and if Shanghai winter decides to show up this year – expect more stores to follow.

Venue: Global Harbor ｜ 环球港

Address: L1, 3300 Zhongshan Rd N. | 中山北路3300号L1

Xterra

Xterra – the "yes-we-actually-go-outside" outdoor brand from Hawaii – just opened its first China experience store at Columbia Circle in September. Good news for anyone tired of pretending a stroll around Jing'an Park counts as "trail running."

Born in 1996 on an island where people are somehow both shredded and chill, Xterra has since grown into a global operation: 300-plus races across 47 countries, plus gear, media, and a general lifestyle philosophy that sounds like it involves a lot of sweating and not enough iced Americanos.

The brand takes design cues from real-deal terrain – think South Africa's red dirt, fog-soaked European monastery trails, and probably at least one place with goats. Basically, if you've been hiking on "mountains" that are actually stairs in a mall atrium, this might open your world.

Xterra likes to frame itself as more than a sports brand – a whole "movement" of authenticity, challenge, and nature-loving good vibes. If you're into muddy shoes, finish-line high-fives, and feeling morally superior to anyone who chooses escalators, you'll fit right in.

Venue: Columbia Circle | 上生新所

Address: Bldg 10, Phase 2, 1262 Yan'an Rd W. ｜延安西路1262号2期10号楼

Staple

New York's OG streetwear label Staple, with nearly 50 years of history, opened its first Asian flagship store in Shanghai on October 30.

Founded in 1997 by Chinese-American designer Jeff Staple, the brand is known for its iconic pigeon logo and rebellious street aesthetic that helped shape global street culture.

Located on Huaihai Road M., the heart of Shanghai's fashion scene, the new store represents a cultural fusion between East and West – more than just retail space, it's a cultural landmark for streetwear fans.

The design blends Staple's signature New York industrial vibe with touches of Shanghai flair. A three-meter-tall bronze pigeon sculpture stands at the entrance, creating a dramatic contrast with Huaihai Road's historic facades.

The highlight of the launch is Staple's original sneaker line, featuring subtle pigeon silhouettes at the toe and claw-patterned soles – minimalist yet packed with attitude. The debut fall-winter collection continues the brand's witty, thought-provoking design language, from pigeon-print tees to hoodie designs shaped by shoelaces.

Address: 538–540 Huaihai Rd M. | 淮海中路538-540号